As Patrick Kielty stepped into the daunting Late Late Show spotlight, Audrey Donohue looks at his career to date and what led him to the biggest TV gig in Ireland.
On paper, Patrick Kielty looks to have the perfect formula for a TV chat show host – a comic, an actor, a radio and TV presenter and a documentarian. What more could you ask for?
Showbiz was never far away when he was growing up in the 70s in Co Down, as his dad John 'Jack' Kielty was a showband promoter. A standout booking was bringing Roy Orbison to play at the local Dundrum Hall. Kielty Junior credits his lifelong love of country music to his father's showband days.
Jack was also chair of the local GAA club and Patrick was a keen GAA player himself – he was part of the Down squad that lifted the All-Ireland minor football crown in 1987.
Despite growing up with the backdrop of the Troubles constantly looming, Kielty, who is one of three brothers, has said on previous occasions that his home was a happy one, full of humour. Speaking on Jarlath Regan's An Irishman Abroad podcast, he recalled carefree memories when he was 12 or 13, sitting in the car with his father, the pair laughing away to Billy Connolly tapes on the radio.
Tragically, the humour came to an abrupt end in 1988, when Kielty's dad Jack, then aged in his mid-40s, was shot dead in January by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) - a wing of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).
Kielty's older brother turned 18 that very day. Patrick, who was just 16, was taken out of class to the headmaster's office to be told the news that would shape his life forever. He says himself, the incident has "made me the man that I am".
Kielty has spoken about how his father was killed for refusing to pay protection money and how he was due to give evidence in a trial. Speaking on The Late Late Show in 2022, he said: "He was a dead man walking from then. He was also the chairman of the Gaelic club, and he was a prominent Catholic in the area."
At this stage, one would wonder how a career in comedy and showbiz could possibly lie ahead for the devastated teenager. However, years later, members of the UDA attended his stand-up gigs in Belfast. He told the Belfast Telegraph in 2015: "The people who commanded the organisation of those that killed my father have sat in the front row of my gigs and I have shaken their hands. Do I accept what they've done? No, I don't. Do I accept that times have changed? Yes, I do."
Despite studying psychology at Queen's University in Belfast – where he was only one of 15 males in a class of 120 – comedy called on Kielty and he honed his craft in campus bars and talent competitions.
Belfast at the time had no dedicated comedy venue, but Kielty and fellow student (and later, BBC producer) Jackie Hamilton decided to create one, and so The Empire Laughs Back – the city's first dedicated comedy night – was born in 1992.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, Kielty recalled that the Empire was located in a "beautiful sweet spot" on neutral ground between loyalist and nationalist parts of town. "When we set the comedy club up, it was 1992; the ceasefire wasn't until 1994, so there was an edge to it. The very first night we weren't sure how many people would turn up – 400 queued around the corner."
With Kielty as compere, the club prospered. Comedian Ed Byrne recalled in 2009 how Kielty held audiences in thrall, night after night: "The one thing everybody will tell you is that if Paddy was hosting, it was the only gig that you would struggle to follow the MC."
He elaborated: "In most provincial clubs, the MC isn't as good, so you are not as eager to watch him – but my overriding memory is how amazing Paddy was to watch."
Despite the horrific atrocities of the Troubles continuing through the club's early years, it persevered through the worst of worst times and is still going strong today.
In those heady early days of his career, Kielty made his first appearance on The Late Late Show in 1992. He was introduced by Gay Byrne as a finalist in the National Comedy Search and came out wearing a balaclava while clutching a holdall. The comedian has since reflected that the humour did not resonate in the South.
Watch: Patrick Kielty takes over The Late Late Show from Gay Byrne in 1996
Bright lights of TV presenting soon came calling for Kielty as he weaved his comedy career into TV presenting over the rest of the '90s and early '00s.
His first real foray came in 1995, when he fronted BBC Northern Ireland's PK Tonight, a weekly live comedy entertainment show that showcased his talents and, while the series could not boast longevity, Kielty's charms caught the attention of London-based broadcasters.
Further TV credits followed, including the short-lived 1997 Channel 4 gameshow Last Chance Lottery and Friday night chat show Patrick Kielty: Almost Live for BBC One, which ran from 1999 to 2003.
The early 2000s also brought gigs fronting the talent show Fame Academy and the earliest iteration of Love Island in 2005 alongside Kelly Brook, in which the contestants were celebrities.
He continued to land much-coveted gigs on his home turf – in 2003, he was MC at the memorable opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Croke Park.
He continued to ply his trade across the comedy circuit both domestically and internationally, landing prestigious gigs including Live at the Apollo in the UK.
Shade has always been present against the lightness of a thriving comedy career, as Kielty has never shied away from the darkness that surrounded his upbringing.
In May 2007, he was invited to conduct a joint in-depth TV interview at 10 Downing Street in London with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to discuss the Northern Ireland peace process.
His 2018 BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary My Dad, The Peace Deal and Me explored the murder of his father and his own feelings around the Good Friday Agreement, with the film broadcast to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the historic deal. It won much praise and saw him named UK Documentary Host of the Year at the 2018 British Documentary Awards.
Watch: Patrick Kielty on The Tommy Tiernan Show
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A further BBC documentary followed three years later – Patrick Kielty: 100 Years of Union explored the trauma of Northern Ireland's past and how it is shaping its future, as well as the prospect of a united Ireland.
Not afraid to poke the establishment, in 2018, Kielty's 20-Tweet takedown of why Boris Johnson's Brexit bluster could spell disaster for peace in Northern Ireland made waves. It's something he is clearly proud of, as it still remains his top pinned tweet on the social media platform.
Throughout all of this, Kielty has enjoyed happiness in his personal life, having married fellow TV presenter Cat Deeley in 2012 in Rome.
They first met while co-presenting the British TV talent show Fame Academy in 2002. The epitome of a slow-burn relationship, the pair remained firm friends for nearly a decade, before the romantic spark was lit – in dramatic fashion.
Deeley has recalled that Kielty made a spontaneous transatlantic flight to see her and that's what clinched it. Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show in 2020, she said: "We had been friends for a very, very long time. Since we did Fame Academy and all that. We would always call each other on birthdays or Christmas, or we'd see each other occasionally or whatever it was.
"Anyway, there was a night where it was the day before my birthday. I can't even remember what birthday it was now! It was 30-something. Anyway, he called me and he spoke to me on the phone. He said, 'Oh, what are you doing for your birthday? I'm just ringing to say happy birthday'.
"I said, 'Oh, we're going to the Beverly Hills Hotel. We're just going to have a late brunch; it's going to be very civilised. It's a shame you're not here, otherwise you could come'. And he was like, 'Well, eh – I'll be there'.
Watch: Cat Deeley on falling in love with Patrick Kielty
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"He flew to LA with his hand luggage, jumped in a cab, told the story to the cabbie. The cabbie was like, 'Are you sure you don't want me to wait? I can wait for you. I can wait. That'll be ok'. He's like, 'No, no! It's good, it's good!'
"[He] Walked into the Beverly Hills Hotel, dropped his bag at concierge and walked in. At which point I fell off my seat. And he then proceeded to be utterly charming to everybody around the table. Everybody slightly fell in love with him. As did I. And he didn't go home for 10 days."
The pair have gone on to have two sons, Milo and James, aged five and seven, respectively. The family previously lived in Los Angeles, where Deeley has hosted the Emmy Award-winning reality show So You Think You Can Dance, since 2006.
They moved to London in early 2020, not long before the Covid-19 lockdown. Despite spending most of his adult life living in the US and UK, Kielty has said he still feels "100% Irish" and holds both Irish and British passports. He has stated on multiple occasions in the past that he is not anti-royal but that he doesn't believe in the royal family, and would not accept a knighthood if offered one.
So – The Late Late Show. Kielty's name swirled as soon as Ryan Tubridy announced his departure from the show in the spring of this year. He has been emphatic that it was an instant "yes" when he was asked, agreeing to a three-year contract, and he will receive a paycheque of €250,000 per season.
The new gig aligns with another recent foray for the comedian that none of his predecessors can boast of – acting. He makes his debut in the Co Down and Belfast-set feature film Ballywalter, alongside accomplished Dublin actor Seána Kerslake. Kielty plays a man who enrols in a stand-up comedy course after his marriage crumbles.
His performance and authenticity have received early praise from critics, and the film, shot entirely in Northern Ireland, hits cinemas on 22 September, one week to the day after his first Late Late.
The last year has also seen Kielty pick up another regular gig: his music and talk show can be heard every Saturday from 9 - 11am on BBC Radio Live 5 as he continues to build his interview experience.
And on top of all that, 2022 also saw him do his first stand-up tour in six years, selling out in Ireland and the UK.
Despite being in showbusiness for the best part of 30 years, it seems like it's all happening for the affable Co Down man as he reintroduces himself on home turf.
All eyes will be on him this Friday 15 September when he takes centre stage under a very different type of spotlight.
The Late Late Show, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, Friday, 9:35pm
