{"id":418401,"date":"2026-04-26T12:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418401\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T12:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:39:12","slug":"pleas-for-late-late-not-to-be-axed-as-kielty-exit-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/418401\/","title":{"rendered":"Pleas for Late Late not to be axed as Kielty exit looms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel O\u2019Donnell is among those urging RT\u00c9 not to axe The Late Late Show while noting that he is almost certainly the only person alive to have been interviewed by all five of its hosts.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Kielty\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/evoke.ie\/2026\/04\/12\/entertainment\/tv\/patrick-kielty-decline-late-late\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tenure as host<\/a> of The Late Late is \u2018up in the air\u2019 as he prepares for the final show of his three-year contract on Friday without having renewed his deal.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <a href=\"http:\/\/Extra.ie\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Extra.ie<\/a> with his wife Majella this week, Kincasslagh crooner Mr O\u2019Donnell said he hopes the national broadcaster will keep the iconic programme alive in some form, even as its future remains uncertain.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Late-Late-Joanne-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1754418\"  \/>Joanne McNally with host Patrick Kielty during The Late Late Show St Patrick\u2019s Day Special. Pic: Shane O\u2019Neill\/Coalesce<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Don\u2019t throw the baby out with the bathwater,\u2019 urged Mr O\u2019Donnell, 63. \u2018We need a show like the Late Late. It plays such an important role in this country.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Majella said the show provided a vital platform for ordinary people to share their stories.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s nowhere like The Late Late Show where ordinary people can be heard,\u2019 Majella said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We really need a show like that,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/late-late-daniel-odonnell-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1368699\"  \/>Daniel O\u2019Donnell is among those urging RT\u00c9 not to axe The Late Late Show. Pic: RTE<\/p>\n<p>The singer confirmed he has sat across from all five presenters \u2013 Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy, Gerry\u2019s Ryan\u2019s \u2018onenight-only stint\u2019, and Patrick Kielty, a feat unmatched in Irish entertainment. <\/p>\n<p>However, he laughed off any suggestion that he could take over the hot seat.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Kielty became the host of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/extra.ie\/tag\/late-late-show\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Late Late Show<\/a>\u00a0in 2023 following Ryan Tubridy\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n<p>While\u00a0RT\u00c9\u00a0have declined to comment on Patrick\u2019s future, and the future of the show in general, they have confirmed that the show\u2019s series finale will take place next month.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The last\u00a0Late Late Show\u00a0of the season is on 1 May,\u2019 an RT\u00c9 spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daniel O\u2019Donnell is among those urging RT\u00c9 not to axe The Late Late Show while noting that he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-418401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418401","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=418401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}