It's been a long three months since we’ve had The Late Late Show grace our screens. The season finale of the show’s 61st season (yes, really!) aired back in May, and since then we’ve been only dying for some more Paddy Kielty on our screens. And now it appears as though we won’t have much longer to wait.
Wrapping up last season, Patrick – who took over the role from Ryan Tubridy last year – said: “When I first walked out here last September, I said that it was the honour of a lifetime to do this job.
“After nine months of sitting in this chair, I know now it is the joy of a lifetime and that is because everyone who works on this show and mostly because of all of you watching at home.
“The way you have welcomed me into your Friday nights has absolutely meant the world to me, so thank you for tuning in and being so kind. Have a great summer, I will see you in the autumn.”
Patrick was particularly praised for his hosting during the Toy Show last Christmas, where he presented a stellar programme with kids from all over the country.
This date reveal comes after news that RTÉ spent more than €340,000 in guest fees in one year, with the Late Late accounting for 40% of that.
Patrick Kielty Teases Late Late Show Return
Patrick Kielty has teased his return to the Late Late Show ahead of the show’s return next month.
Patrick, who signed a three year deal with RTÉ last year to take over as host of the show, will be back for the next season of the Late Late — with the chat show returning to our screens on Friday, September 13.
Ahead of the show’s return, the show’s Instagram account shared a photo of Patrick back stage — with the Co Down comedian all smiles as he prepared for the next season.
A post shared by The Late Late Show (@latelaterte)
‘Felt cute might delete later xoxo,’ the post read. ‘See you soon’ he added with a winking emoji.
Patrick was confirmed to return as host of the Late Late for the next season — with the unfortunately ominous return date of Friday the 13th, with some joking Patrick will hope that isn’t a bad omen.
The Late Late Show host bid an emotional farewell for the summer hiatus in early May, and indicated that he was intending to return to the show following the break.
‘When I first walked out here last September, I said that it was the honour of a lifetime to do this job,’ Patrick told viewers. ‘After nine months of sitting in this chair, I know now it is the joy of a lifetime and that is because everyone who works on this show and mostly because of all of you watching at home.
‘The way you have welcomed me into your Friday nights has absolutely meant the world to me, so thank you for tuning in and being so kind. Have a great summer, I will see you in the autumn.’
Kielty’s first season is considered a success in terms of the viewing figures, with an average of 452,000 tuning in every Friday night compared to Tubridy’s last season which averaged 407,000.
Patrick Kielty Talks House Hunting And Returning To The Late Late Show
Patrick Kielty is heading into his second season as Late Late Show host and the Friday night chat show returns next week - he revealed he and wife Cat Deeley are house hunting
Patrick Kielty has lifted the lid on his busy summer before he returns to the Late Late Show next week.
The Late Late Show finished up for a summer break back in May, and Patrick has soaked up the time with his family.
He enjoyed a getaway to the South of France with wife Cat Deeley and their sons Milo and James, as well as overcoming shingles - he has now returned from a staycation and is “chomping at the bit” to get back to work.
“I've just left the campervan back this morning,” said Patrick. “We were doing a staycation around County Down with our two fellas for the best part of a week. They are fans. For me, two kids under eight in a campervan is, shall we say, eventful!”
Things are still busy even though the kids have gone back to school, as the family are currently house hunting.
“Just getting back into a routine with the kids going off to school helps,” Patrick told the RTE Guide. “And we're also doing a house hunt at the minute. So, a change is as good as a rest! I'm not really someone who enjoys lying on a beach. I much prefer going to a couple of Gaelic matches with the boys here.
“The eldest fella is eight, and there was a Cúl Camp blitz down at the pitch. The pitch is named after me aul fella and when your son's playing GAA on a pitch named after your aul fella, sometimes you have to take a wee bit of time and just smell the flowers and go, 'Wow, this is a moment.' Those are the things that recharge me.
Heading into his second season as the Late Late Show host, the County Down native said he can be nothing but himself.
“During my first season as host, and going into the second series now, you can only be yourself,' he said. “Audiences are smart. Audiences are savvy. They smell BS and that goes for the crews in RTÉ too, who have seen people come and go.
“If somebody doesn't like you, that's fine; there are lots of flavours of ice cream out there! But my idea was always to come out from the very start and say, 'Look, this is who I am, and I hope you enjoy it' I can't ask any more than that.”
The Late Late Show's Return: A Second Season For Patrick Kielty
The Late Late Show’s return date has been confirmed.
Patrick Kielty will return to our screens next month for the new season of the Late Late Show.
According to the RTÉ TV listings, the show will return on Friday, September 13.
After replacing Ryan Tubridy as host of the Friday night chat program last year, talk show host Patrick Kielty signed a three-year contract.
Over the season’s run, a collection of guests and musical talent have appeared.
The Co. Down native became the fourth presenter of the programme for its 61st season.
According to figures in May of this year, there has been an average of 45,000 more viewers each week thanks to the Co.Down native.
New figures released in the Sunday Independent showcased that 22 episodes of The Late Late Show in the 2023/2024 season had an average audience of 452,000, with a 39 per cent share.
These figures are in contrast to Ryan’s final season, which had an average audience of 407,000 with a 38 per cent share from the same number of episodes last year.
RTÉ bosses are said to be “over the moon” with the performance of the presenter who is married to Cat Deeley.
The comparison, carried out by the national broadcaster’s in-house data team, also revealed that the hosts had equal audience share at 39pc.
However, Patrick had a clear advantage in emerging as the winner in this comparison, as his show is shorter and only runs until 11.05pm each Friday.
Ryan’s show was 30 minutes longer and ran until 11.35pm at night.
The show’s TikTok account has also skyrocketed, and views are up from 5.23m to 34.66m compared to last year.
An RTÉ spokesperson said: “We are delighted that The Late Late Show is reaching new audiences across all platforms.
Patrick began his stand-up comedy career as host of Northern Ireland’s first comedy club The Empire Laughs Back in Belfast.
The 53-year-old’s career has since grown immensely across TV, radio and the stage.
The Late Late Show: Patrick Kielty's Debut Season A Success
It's been a long three months since the Late Late Show last graced our TV screens, we're ready for it to come back!
The most recent season of the longstanding chat show, its 62nd season, saw Patrick Kielty take the reins from former host Ryan Tubridy.
The consensus appears to be that Patrick's first season at the helm was a roaring success, from a stellar line-up of guests throughout its nine months on air to its epic Toy Show at Christmastime.
The Late Late Show last aired on RTÉ One on May 10, so it's been a long summer for those of us who look forward to perching ourselves on the armchair with a cuppa in hand of a Friday evening.
Well, we've got good news as The chat show is slated to return on Friday, September 13, per Extra. We're taking that as a good omen!
In May, Patrick bid an emotional farewell to his viewers, telling them: 'When I first walked out here last September, I said that it was the honour of a lifetime to do this job. After nine months of sitting in this chair, I know now it is the joy of a lifetime and that is because everyone who works on this show and mostly because of all of you watching at home.'
‘The way you have welcomed me into your Friday nights has absolutely meant the world to me, so thank you for tuning in and being so kind. Have a great summer, I will see you in the autumn.’
The news of the Late Late Show's expected return date comes after it was revealed that RTÉ paid out more than €340,000 in guest fees over the past 12 months, with the chat show accounting for nearly 40 per cent of that spending.
The payments were made to contributors across a wide range of the broadcaster’s most popular TV and radio shows but not to politicians or those promoting a film, album, programme, or book.
The Late Late Show has run up €135,620 in guest fees since Patrick Kielty took over. That money was shared between 170 different guests, or an average payment of around €800 per person.
Patrick Kielty: The Next Chapter
The star will return to our screens to present his second season on Friday, September 13 after a summer break. Opening up about returning to the Friday night chat show, he said he was “chomping at the bit” to get back to work.
“I've just left the campervan back this morning. We were doing a staycation around County Down with our two fellas for the best part of a week. They are fans. For me, two kids under eight in a campervan is, shall we say, eventful.”
Things are still busy even though the kids have gone back to school, as the family are currently house hunting.
“Just getting back into a routine with the kids going off to school helps,” Patrick told the RTÉ Guide.
“And we're also doing a house hunt at the minute. So, a change is as good as a rest. I'm not really someone who enjoys lying on a beach. I much prefer going to a couple of Gaelic matches with the boys here.
“The eldest fella is eight, and there was a Cúl Camp blitz down at the pitch. The pitch is named after me aul fella and when your son's playing GAA on a pitch named after your aul fella, sometimes you have to take a wee bit of time and just smell the flowers and go, 'Wow, this is a moment'. Those are the things that recharge me.
“So, the batteries are well and truly charged at this stage. I'm chomping at the bit to get going again.”
Heading into his second season as the Late Late Show host, the Co Down native said he can be nothing but himself.
“During my first season as host, and going into the second series now, you can only be yourself,” he said. “Audiences are smart. Audiences are savvy. They smell BS and that goes for the crews in RTÉ too, who have seen people come and go.
“If somebody doesn't like you, that's fine; there are lots of flavours of ice cream out there! But my idea was always to come out from the very start and say, 'Look, this is who I am, and I hope you enjoy it'. I can't ask any more than that.”
Reflecting on his first season, he said he didn’t lose much sleep hosting his first ever Late Late Toy Show.
“Here's the weird thing about that… The Toy Show didn't really cause me as many sleepless nights as I think it may have caused those in the rest of the team. The run-up to the Toy Show for me felt a bit like playing in an All-Ireland Final, where people just want to know, 'How will you play the first five minutes?' and ‘What will you do you when you catch that ball?' And, of course, it's also like an All-Ireland final because the main question people are asking is, Do you have any tickets?
“The thing about the Toy Show is that it should never be about me. In my head throughout that evening, I've got a six-year-old and an eight-year-old. The Toy Show for me growing up was always about fun toys and fun kids. And if you can put both of those things together, you can give them the space to fly.
“Afterwards, people were coming up to me and saying, 'Oh, God, I bet you're glad that's over?' What I think they were really saying was, 'Jesus, I'm glad that's over',” he jokingly added.
