WE SEEM TO be closing in on the next host of the Late Late Show.

After a rake of high-profile prospective Ryan Tubridy replacements took themselves out of the running, it seemed as though the race had narrowed down to two candidates.

As recently as this weekend, it was widely speculated that the reins would be handed either to RTÉ stalwart Brendan O’Connor, or veteran comedian and chat show host Patrick Kielty. 

As the week has worn on, momentum behind the 52-year-old Kielty has grown, with RTÉ presenter Marty Whelan commenting: “I like him very much… If it is him, I would be delighted, because he’s a good guy and I think he would do a very good job.”

Kielty’s presence in Ireland over the last week has been conspicuous in and of itself. While attending the IFTAs last weekend, he gave an undeniably diplomatic answer when quizzed on the Late Late job.

“I think the Late Late Show is one of the greatest TV shows on the planet, and whoever gets it is going to be really lucky.”

Those were his words. One of the greatest TV shows on the planet. Not a commonly expressed opinion, but the kind of thing you might expect to hear from somebody who would rather like to host it.

The Co Down man has been hosting chat shows since the 90s including: Patrick Kielty Almost Live, BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning. He has scored some high-profile interviews over the years, including the first televised interview with footballer George Best following his liver transplant.

In addition to his chat show experience, his bona fides as a performer go well beyond the show’s three previous hosts, having spent years as a touring stand-up comedian – including an appearance in the final of the National Comedy Search, which was featured on the Late Late Show itself. 

In recent years, Kielty has also become increasingly vocal on current affairs – including presenting a documentary on the the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, titled My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me. His father was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1988. 

Speaking on The Tommy Tiernan Show earlier this year, he said: “You know if you look at two peoples in the north, who were polar opposites and wanted each other dead and you have to compromise to live. You have to compromise, you have to give ground.”

During the same appearance, Kielty seemed to criticise the Ireland Women’s football team, saying “I think you could probably start with not singing, ‘Oooh ah, up the ‘RA’ in the changing rooms, maybe,” before agreeing with Tiernan’s assessment that the incident was “harmless”.

He has also been a fierce critic of Brexit, and the current direction of politics in the UK.

In a 2019 column in the Guardian, he wrote: “Brexit has never been about Nissan X-Trails or the shape of your bananas… For the gammons and bowler hats on the team, the final destination has always been the top of the white cliffs of Dover dressed as Dad’s Army, straddling Dysons”.

Kielty has been married to fellow presenter and TV personality Cat Deeley since 2012, and the two lived in Los Angeles with their two children. The family moved back to London in 2020 after father and son were caught in an active shooter situation in LA’s Century City Mall.

Nothing has been confirmed by RTÉ yet, but Kielty’s appearance at the IFTAs alongside Deeley has sparked plenty of chatter. 

“I think something that maybe hasn’t been said: I’ve done chat shows before, I know how difficult they are,” he said on the red carpet.

It very much sounds like he wants the job – though nothing has been confirmed yet. Watch this space.