Host Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley announced their separation in July after more than a decade of marriage. In a joint statement at the time, they said: “We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated. There is no other party involved.
“We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected.
“There will be no further comment.”
As the Late Late Show returned after its summer break, Kielty opened his third season at the helm with a message of gratitude.
“One of the greatest joys of hosting this show is that you’re never alone” ❤️
It’s great to have you back Paddy 🫶#LateLate pic.twitter.com/OwO8x0gber
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 12, 2025
“Honestly, it is so nice to be back with you, especially after this summer, where I’ve genuinely been blown away by all the love and support that you guys have sent my way,” he said.
“One of the greatest joys of hosting this show is that you’re never alone. And so to all of you who have been so kind to be my family this past few months, can I just say a huge go raibh míle. It’s one of the many reasons why walking out here is always a privilege, why being back here with you tonight truly puts flesh on my bones.”
He and Deeley wed in September 2012 at a ceremony in Rome and have two children together. Deeley has hosted ITV’s This Morning alongside Ben Shephard since early last year.
Performer and chorographer Michael Flatley was the first guest of the night, and he spoke about his wish to become Ireland’s next president and why he chose to end his campaign.
The star of Riverdance and creator of Lord of the Dance said it is not the right time for him to run for president, citing his health as a main factor. In early 2023, he was diagnosed with cancer, and he described the impact of losing three of his friends, including Eddie Jordan, in the past year to cancer.
“It’s a very lonely place.”
Michael Flatley on his personal journey with cancer, and his involvement with a new exhibition by Breakthrough Cancer Research. #LateLate pic.twitter.com/kOjWQhK2rv
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 12, 2025
“You don’t think it’s going to affect you until one day, bang, and when it hits, your life is never the same, never.”
He did not rule out a future run for the presidency but said he will focus on promoting Irish culture internationally for now.
“I think I can serve the people of Ireland a lot better [by] continuing to do what I do: promoting Ireland and Irish culture globally. I have done for 30 years, and I’m proud of that, and it’s an honour for me to represent Ireland.
“Listen, it wasn’t easy, because the greatest honour that any person could possibly have in life is to be president of the country you love.”
With the new season firmly underway, plans are also afoot for one of the most exciting nights for kids of all ages.
Kielty was joined by autism assistance dog Star, who featured on last year’s Toy Show as a puppy, to confirm the date of the next seasonal special.
Set your reminders, this year’s #LateLateToyShow will take place on December 5th 😍🎄
And applications for kids to be on the show are now OPEN 🎉 #LateLate pic.twitter.com/JiJfyd1FAW
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 12, 2025
The Late Late Toy Show will air on Friday, December 5 and applications are open until September 24 for would-be performers, while applications for toy demonstrators and county parade participants is October 1.
Performance auditions will take place in Dublin, while auditions for toy demonstrators will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
In a prerecorded interview, actors Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell spoke to Kielty about their upcoming film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. The rom-com sees their characters revisit their pasts via a magical car.
Kielty pointed out some similarities with a beloved Irish television icon of the 1980s and 1990s: Bosco.
“I think this is an idea for this movie that you may have stolen from this guy,” Kielty said, whipping out a picture of Bosco.
Colin Farrell explaining Bosco to Margot Robbie wasn’t on our bingo card 🤣#LateLate pic.twitter.com/s9ZEf6W0fJ
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 12, 2025
“Bosco was huge. God, I spent a lot of my very formative young years watching this puppet,” Farrell replied, explaining the cultural significance of the red-headed character to his Australian co-star.
Robbie also spoke about a whirlwind trip she took to Dublin when she was living in London and followed a backpacking friend of a friend to Ireland.
“Me and my other roommate, we were like, ‘we might come to Ireland with you. We’ve got the day off and tomorrow,’” she said.
“We had an amazing, short amount of time. We got to Dublin, went to, is it Temple Bar? Had a lock-in, the police locked us in, it was amazing.”
Retired rugby star Conor Murray, whose biography is published this month, reflected on his career on the pitch as well as his family life during the show.
He highlighted a particularly difficult time, when he learned his father had been injured and was in an induced coma while he was training for the Six Nations. Murray said the phone call from his mother was “surreal”.
“That moment was really surreal, like, shock. I was just [on] autopilot,” he said. “I went down to the hospital in Limerick. Dad had just been brought there from the site where he had been knocked over. Real shocking to see your dad like that. He was not in great shape.”
He said in that limbo period while they waited for news in the hospital, his family encouraged him to return to the team and play a match.
“I played the game and I played it in autopilot. Once I went up to camp, I was just back with the lads. It was probably a release for me, away from the seriousness of what was going on. Andy [Farrell] made a speech at the end of the game and said, like, ‘Thanks for playing, it means the world.’ And the lads were so around me, had my back.”
His father has since made a full recovery, with Murray saying his father “hates me talking about this. He’s of that generation where he’s like, ‘I’m fine. Don’t be talking about me. I’m healthy’.”
Finally, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson was the final guest of the night. After confirming she has no interest in running in the presidential election this year (“I can categorically say no”) she discussed her recent visit to the Gaza border and criticised Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Trump.
“It is a man-made famine, and it is an unfolding genocide. I feel very sorry in many ways for the people of Israel. It’s an extremist government led by a bad prime minister, Netanyahu.”
Mary Robinson on the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza, and the history of the Famine in Ireland. #LateLate pic.twitter.com/fpzngbuMPe
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 12, 2025
She said the deteriorating situation in Gaza is “a failure of political will on the part of very few”, particularly Netanyahu and Trump.
“It’s isolating two countries, basically the United States and Israel, as responsible for a famine and an unfolding genocide. Is that the legacy that people want in those countries?”
She encouraged Irish people to continue to speak out for human rights as “we have in our DNA a memory of a famine”.