Patrick Kielty is having another quiet week.
His second Late Late Show this Friday night coincides with the arrival of his first film as an actor in cinemas, starring opposite the reliably excellent Seána Kerslake - and more than holding his own.
On the big screen, Kielty has become the latest to prove the theory that if you can do comedy you can do drama. If his prominence on TVs and tablets pushes more people in the direction of Ballywalter, it will be no less than this funny, sad and ultimately life-affirming film deserves.
It charts the friendship between Kielty's Shane and Kerslake's Eileen, two disaster areas who are randomly thrown together as they try to pick their way through personal rubble. He's not allowed to drive, she's not supposed to be driving a taxi. Their rinse-and-repeat lives see them bicker from Ballywalter into Belfast and back every week.
The chemistry between Kielty and Kerslake is excellent and behind the lens there's another great team as first-time feature director Prasanna Puwanarajah and writer Stacey Gregg bring out the best in each other too.
This small story, delicately told was filmed during the pandemic and the eerie emptiness in the background somehow adds to the warmth of the performances and the power of human connection. Ballywalter's message also resonates all the more after the past few years. Someone you know is sitting at home by themselves.
Kielty and Kerslake and Puwanarajah and Gregg should give some serious thought to working together again. It would be a shame to leave it at just the one.
