Adele King has entertained the Irish people for decades on and off our screens, but it seems the all-round funny woman is not happy with RTÉ.
Known to many as Twink, she has made her way back onto the stage this year, in Cinderella with Sammy and Buffy at the National Stadium in Dublin this December.
However, while she is excited about her return, she also has a bone to pick with a few people in Ireland’s entertainment business.
As a child, the young Dublin girl was a natural when it came to performing and making people laugh, and as time progressed, she would make a name for herself in the business, starring alongside some of the best, such as Mike Murphy and Brendan Grace.
For nearly six decades, she has brought laughter to many, but in recent times, the star has felt as if she is being given the ‘cold shoulder’ by RTÉ and, in particular, the Late Late Show.
Sitting down with the Irish Independent, she spoke of her hurt and anger at the station for the way she has been treated.
Leaving a message with the head of the station, Kevin Bakhurst, regarding her new panto show, Adele was disgusted when her call went unanswered.
Pic: VIPIreland
‘I didn’t even get the manners of a phone call back…Am I hurt? Oh yes, I’m hurt. Am I angry? No, I’m hurt. I am so hurt. I’m so hurt,’ she told the publication.
As for the Late Late Show and not being asked to come on and chat about her new gig, she highlighted how in the past, she kept the show ‘alive,’ in that she was ‘the only woman they ever had who could talk, be funny, sing, dance…’
She stated that she knows it is not Kevin Bakhurst who is making this decision for the show, but says, ‘I find it a sublime and supreme insult. I really do. And I don’t know who is to blame, but I think it is scandalous. If it is a personal grudge – how dare they!’
Patrick Kielty on the Late Late Show. Pic: Late Late Show / Instagram
Her hurt was not only focused on the recent actions of the station but also from the Late Late Show host, Patrick Kielty.
She told the paper that after his mother had died, and he had paid tribute to her on the show, Adele sent him a handmade card. Adele highlighted how she was thinking of the star and that she, too, remembers what it was like to have to perform while trying to deal with a bereavement.
Furthermore, Adele went on to criticise the Friday night show, claiming that it is the same faces sitting on the couch over and over again and believes wholeheartedly that Oliver Callan or Al Porter should have been awarded the position of host over Patrick Kielty.
With her talent, she is not the only one who can’t believe she has not been invited on, stating how her friends, colleagues, and those closest to her also don’t understand.
RTE director-general Kevin Bakhurst at the RTE campus in Donnybrook. Pic: PA Images
While Patrick has not made any comment on this, the publication contacted the Director General, Kevin Bakhurst, to get his side.
He told them that in his position, he doesn’t interfere with the day-to-day or weekly production of shows, but that he would be happy to meet with Adele sometime in the future.