Patrick Kielty on his sons, commuting from London and the Late Late guest that’s ‘hard to pin down’
Patrick Kielty has told how it feels like "a different vibe and a different energy" going into the new season of the Late Late Show.
The chat show returns to RTE One this Friday, September 13th at 9.35pm. And ahead of the new season, Patrick told Chic how he was "putting myself into where I was last year" - and the questions, and "sort of unknown" that came with taking on the role.
He said, "What's weird is when I'm putting myself into where I was last year, and sort of all that unknown. You had all the stuff that you were going to be trying to go out there, do your best, would audiences want to watch and would they like you - and how the whole thing would go. There was a big 'unknown' thing that was going on."
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He added: "I think going into season two, it's that thing of, audiences kind of - they need to know the person that's driving the bus knows how to drive. It kind of feels like going into season one, it was, 'who is this guy, can he drive?'"
"And going into season two, it sort feels like, 'OK, at least we know he can drive - where's he going to take us?' It feels like a different vibe and a different energy."
The Co Down native added that there's "lots of stuff planned" for the year ahead, RSVP reports.
He said, "We had such an amazing summer with our success at the Olympics, and what's been going on there. Going into the new season, obviously we'll be trying to celebrate a bit of that. I'll be trying to claim Daniel Wiffen as being from Co Down instead of Co Armagh. There's lots of good stuff coming down the track."
And the comedian told how he reckons the Late Late Show is "kind of three, four shows in one" - and shared some of his highlights from the first season.
He said, "The thing about The Late Late Show is that it's kind of three, four shows in one. You've got all those entertainment moments and then, you cover politics and there's lots of serious stuff that you cover on the show, as well."
"I think that growing up watching the show, the Late Late Show works best whenever you kind of have two guests on that you're not really expecting to have something in common. And then suddenly they, you know, fanboy or fangirl over each other and then off it goes."
"Like when we had Mel B, Scary Spice, and Nicola Coughlan on. That was a fun moment. Or Daniel O'Donnell and Ricky Tomlinson from The Royale Family - you're thinking, 'that weirdly shouldn't work', but it did. Conan O'Brien and Graham Norton - to have three talk show hosts on the one show, that was a fun moment."
And Patrick told how "there's so many firsts throughout that series for me".
He continued, "The Country Special, the GAA Special - the night that they surprised me, and I didn't think they were going to. I'm pretty hard to surprise. I normally sniff stuff out. The fact that they got me, with the team I used to play with coming out and bringing the cup out. And I mean obviously, the Toy Show is front and centre. That's a night that I'll never forget."
With so many special editions of The Late Late Show throughout the years, Patrick told how there's one in particular that he would like to host.
He said, "I'd quite like to take the show on the road. They used to do that. There was an episode done in London once. I think it'd be quite fun to do one from Galway, to do one from Cork - I think that could be fun, if they'll let me."
Patrick told how there's one guest who he would love to have on the Late Late Show one day - but scheduling might prove to be a bit tricky.
He said, "I mean, the one that we're trying to - he's so hard to pin down. We'd really love it if we could try to land Rory McIIroy. His schedule is so weird, that when we're on air, he's normally playing golf in America. That would be amazing."
And returning for a new season of The Late Late Show also means The Late Late Toy Show is on the way - and the presenter recalled how he "didn't feel as much pressure going into the Toy Show as I did maybe going into the first show" last year.
He said, "I don't really see myself as the Toy Man, because for me that show - this sounds odd, saying it - but that show, going into it and going into it again a second time round, the Toy Show is not about me. The Toy Show, growing up for me, was always about the toys and it was always about the kids.
"And so, when we were making the Toy Show last season, you know - as long as you can get fun toys and fun kids and brilliant kids and put them together, that's that show. For me, I weirdly didn't feel as much pressure going into the Toy Show as I did maybe going into the first show.
"And then what was weird was - I was in this real blissful bubble, 'hey, this is going to be really good, we've got some great kids!' And people were going, 'yeah, yeah, great'. And then the Toy Show, it happened, and people were going, 'well, thank god that went OK'."
"And then suddenly you realise - you're going, 'oh, OK, so I should have been more worried than I was?' And they're going, 'oh, oh yeah - you should have been a lot more worried'. That was the thing, I was going in going, 'this is going to be fun!' And afterwards, people were going, 'phew, I bet you're relieved that's over' - and I was like, 'what?'"
The 2023 Toy Show was a huge hit with audiences, with people in 147 countries watching it over the course of the weekend.
And Patrick told how his sons are "fully in" and major fans of the annual festive programme.
He said: "To say that my two boys are now Toy Show fans - there are Toy Show pyjamas in our house that our boys want to wear all the time. The thing is, they're made from a winter fabric. They're made from something that'll keep you nice and snuggly for winter evenings."
"When it comes to bedtime, they keep going and getting these Toy Show pyjamas. I'll go, 'No no, they're going to be too warm', and they're like, 'I don't care, dad!' They've got Toy Show pyjamas, Toy Show slippers - they're fully in."
Patrick also told how it was "really tough to pick just one moment" from his career so far as a favourite - particularly after the last 12 months.
He said, "It's really, really difficult. There's four moments that happened just in the last 12 months that were all amazing - to walk out and do your first Late Late Show, and then that was also the week that the first movie that I'd ever done came out. And then a couple of months later, to do a Toy Show."
"And then a couple of months later, to be asked, 'would you be the Grand Marshall in the St. Patrick's Day parade?' You're in this car, going around Dublin - being the Grand Marshall was kind of the moment where you realise that, when people talk about the figures of people watching, you go 'oh, yeah, those are just figures'."
"And then you're going around in a car in Dublin and people are shouting and joking with you, and it's like 'oh, OK - they're watching!' But it's really tough to pick just one moment."
Patrick told how the commute between London and Dublin to host The Late Late Show last year was "the most working routine that I've ever actually had".
He said: "I mean, whenever you've been a stand up and are used to living life out of a bag - that idea of a different hotel every night, a different gig every night. What some people would think is, 'oh my god, there's a bit of a commute there, how do you handle that?' I think the Late Late has been the most working routine that I've ever actually had."
"Once you've got your routine down, and you know what you're doing and you've got a pattern, that part of it is pretty easy."
Patrick told how while "comedy is always the first love" and he'd like to try more acting, there's one career moment that's been difficult to top.
He said: "Comedy is always the first love. I'm planning on doing some more stand-up dates next year, because that's like an itch that if it's in you, if it's wired into you, it's something that you always want to go back to. I made a promise with myself a few years ago - god, it must have been about 20 years ago, when I started to do a lot of TV and I didn't do as much stand up as I wanted to or I should have done.
"It was one of those where you're kind of looking at yourself in the mirror going, 'come on - there's an itch that needs to be scratched'."
And Patrick added that acting "is something I'd love to do more of" following on from Ballywalter, and told how he's been sent "after a few scripts".
He added: "Still, walking out there on a Friday night as the host of that show, with all the history and everything else that comes with it - that one is hard to top."
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