Star Sunday  18/03/2007 Ken Sweeney

It was a fare the King of the Taxis will never forget.

But Tommy Gorman, President of the National Taxi Drivers' Union wasn't in the driving seat when he hitched a ride with PJ Gallagher of RTE2'S hidden camera show Naked Camera.

PJ told Star Sunday:  "The only reason we were loaned a taxi for the last series of Naked Camera was on the condition we set up Tommy.

"We got him good but I have to say he was credit to taxi men everywhere the way he took the joke."

Tommy (68) said:  "It was about six months ago when we were in the middle of going through all this trouble with the fares.

"I got a call from John Usher president of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation telling me that Minister Martin Cullen wanted to see me in the Dail in the next 30 minutes and he was sending a taxi to pick me up."

However, the taxi sent was driver by joker PJ Gallagher.

PJ said; "Tommy's mates in the taxi union told us that the two things he hates most are taxi drivers who turned up late and drivers who don't know where they're going.

That's why PJ arrived at Tommy's office 25 minutes late.

"Tommy told me he was on the way to what was probably the most important meeting yet between taxi drivers and the Government - and he only had five minutes to make the Dail

"He was going mental because I was putting on my high voice going 'there's no reason to be angry Mr. Gorman, I'll get you there in no time'."

But no sooner had Naked Camera's taxi pulled then PJ had spun straight into the Phoenix Park.

Tommy said "I asked him where the f**** he was going?

"He kept telling me that he was taking me up to The Dail in the Phoenix Park."

PJ added:  "That's when Tommy really went crazy.  He was screaming that he'd been a taxi man for 30 years and that the Dail was in Kildare Street."

Events took a turn for the worse when PJ circled a roundabout on the park's main road five times.

However, the fare finally ended on Infirmary Road.

PJ said:  "Tommy was screaming at me to take a left but I went right.

"That's when he jumped out of the taxi, shouting back at me 'I'm getting the f****** bus.

But Tommy is reported to have taken the joke well when the Naked Camera came clean.

Tommy said:  "when you're caught, you're caught.

"I'm just dreading the DVD coming out because all the drivers want to see it."