{"id":369788,"date":"2026-03-28T12:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/369788\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T12:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:45:09","slug":"curtains-for-kielty-will-the-late-late-show-host-stay-or-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/369788\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtains for Kielty? Will the Late Late Show host stay or go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patrick Kielty\u2019s future as host of the Late Late Show looks increasingly uncertain, with insiders revealing the Co Down funnyman is \u2018weighing up his options\u2019 as his shock split from TV presenter Cat Deeley takes a devastating personal toll.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the 55-year-old told Extra.ie that the comedian is struggling to juggle the demands of Ireland\u2019s most prestigious Friday night slot with the emotional fallout of his marriage, with insiders warning that the practical challenges of a cross-channel commute to see his children could prove the final straw.<\/p>\n

Kielty, who splits his time between London and Dublin, is said to be \u2018exhausted\u2019 by the relentless cross-channel commute and the pressures of single parenthood as he and Deeley navigate their new reality with sons Milo and James.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty. Pic: Andres Poveda<\/p>\n

Industry veterans are already openly questioning how much longer he can last in the hot seat, with the mood at Montrose said to be \u2018decidedly less optimistic\u2019 than in the glory days of Gay Byrne and Ryan Tubridy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pat is a brilliant comedian and an incredibly personable presenter, but for some reason his talents just haven\u2019t shone through on the Late Late,\u2019 one source told Extra.ie. \u2018From what I\u2019m hearing, Patrick feels constrained and more than a little exasperated. Nobody expects him to be there in five years.\u2019<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just his personal life causing headaches. The show\u2019s guest list has come under withering fire from viewers and industry insiders alike, with social media erupting over what many are calling a parade of \u2018canteen bookings\u2019, a damning reference to the old joke about RT\u00c9 talent never straying far from the building\u2019s cafeteria.<\/p>\n

\"CatCat Deeley and Patrick Kielty Pic: Karwai Tang\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s lineup has done little to silence the critics. Two guests currently star in RT\u00c9 productions, 2FM presenter Doireann Garrihy and Hardy Bucks actor Kevin McGahern, while broadcaster Pat Kenny and newsreader Catriona Perry, both former RT\u00c9 employees, also appeared on the show.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s the old RT\u00c9 canteen jibe on steroids,\u2019 one source said. Belfast actor Ciar\u00e1n Hinds rounds out the bill, described by one insider with brutal honesty before adding \u2018with a Nordie thrown in for good measure.\u2019<\/p>\n

The withering assessment of the Late Late Show\u2019s dearth of star power is a stark contrast to the high hopes of a revamped celebrity- sprinkled show Kielty alluded to when he took the reins.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty. Pic: Andres Poveda<\/p>\n

The failure to entice celebrity powerhouses to the Friday night show, critics say, never materialised.<\/p>\n

The tired format has led to increased criticism directed at Kielty\u2019s performance himself, despite the fact that, as host, he would have minimal influence on the guest lineup.<\/p>\n

\u2018RTE is rigid, structured and to be quite frank, resistant to change or going out on a limb,\u2019 said an industry insider.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you are a big-name celebrity, would you bother flying to Ireland for a Late Late appearance. And even those big Hollywood stars that are in the country, of which there are very many these days with all the Hollywood productions being filmed here, they can\u2019t be convinced to appear on the show.\u2019<\/p>\n

So, without the iconoclast status bestowed upon Gay Byrne and the gr\u00e1 many people had for Tubridy, industry insiders and marketing executives believe the show has lost the cultural clout it once commanded.<\/p>\n

\u2018RT\u00c9 as an organisation is so rigid and staid,\u2019 the source continued. \u2018There\u2019s no real appetite to rip up the rule book. There\u2019s a growing consensus, especially in the ad world, that the Late Late has had its day and it\u2019s time to consign it to Reeling in the Years.\u2019<\/p>\n

As ratings fluctuate, one question is growing louder in the corridors of Montrose: is Patrick Kielty simply keeping the seat warm or could the Late Late Show itself be consigned to the dustbin of RTE history?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick Kielty\u2019s future as host of the Late Late Show looks increasingly uncertain, with insiders revealing the Co…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-369788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}