GO INTO POLITICS? NOT IN A TRILLION YEARS; Miriam happy where she is.

Byline: DEMELZA de BURCA

RTE star Miriam O'Callaghan has slammed rumours she will follow colleague George Lee into politics.

The Prime Time presenter and chatshow host, who recently lost out on the Late Late gig to Ryan Tubridy, said she has no political ambition.

The mother of eight added: "No, I wouldn't dream of it in a trillion years. I think it's a really tough job. I'd hate it." The leggy blonde is so pleased with her top RTE positions she has indicated she would be willing to take a second salary cut.

But she said: "That's just for me. It's not the same for everybody else. Other people think differently. I don't care about money.

"I work on Prime Time where every other night there are people losing their jobs and you are asking other people to step up to the mark.

"I can hardly do that with any integrity if I don't step up to the mark myself. I'm on a great wage."

In a candid interview with Hotpress, Miriam also recalls death threats when she worked in the North during the Troubles.

She said: "We did get death threats. Myself and another guy, who is now editor of Channel 4 News, were doing a story about the UDR 4, which was like the Birmingham Six.

"We came out to our car after coming out of the jail and they had pulled out all the engine wires."

The broadcaster also opened her heart about how consumed she was with grief when her father and sister Anne both died in 1995.

"It's like a blur. I used to go around looking at people who were really grumpy and mean and older, and thinking, 'Why are you alive when my sister is dead?'

"I think Anne winged Steven [her husband Steven Carson] to me from heaven. He is quite extraordinary. Genuinely. I'm madly in love with him."

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CONTENT Mum Miriam