'Steve, what ever happened to the Kildare tortoise?' - viewers may find answer on Late Late Show tonight!

Everybody in Kildare will be hoping Steve Coogan is asked about the 'Kildare tortoise' on tonight's Late Late Show.

Award-winning actor, comedian and writer Coogan will join host Patrick Kielty in the RTE studio to talk about appearing in the stage version of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin.

He will also be talking about his iconic character Alan Partridge and how it felt to finally get his Irish passport.

But the burning question for Kildare viewers will be what happened to the Kildare tortoise.

It all goes back to 2019 and the final episode of the BBC show This Time with Alan Partridge - which went down in history as a comedy classic.

The hilarious spoof chat show featured a farmer from Sligo - 'Martin Brennan' (played by Coogan) who looks like Partridge and tries to impersonate him - but has never heard of him.  

He said his friend showed him the real Partridge on a computer but he said: 'who de hell is dat' .  

During the course of the conversation, Martin bizarrely unveils a tortoise in a cardboard shoe box with a leaf of cabbage - which he says he got from his "friend in Kildare!"  

The tortoise has the name 'Alun' painted on his shell.

The farmer is asked where he got the tortoise, and he replies: "A friend in Co Kildare has them. But you talk to me!"

The next few moments of  the show also caused quite a stir.  

Martin joined in a sing-song with a guitarist and a bodhrán player as they belted out the rebel songs - 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans' and 'Men Behind the Wire'.  

The Late Late Show will also feature American actress and Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, along with iconic Irish actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd chat about their new tv series 'Small Town, Big Story' that is set-in rural Ireland. Chris will talk about filming in Ireland again while Christina will fill viewers in about her time on set.
 

Canadian comedian, writer, presenter and actor Katherine Ryan will also be in the hotseat tomorrow night. Katherine has carved out a hugely successful career on this side of the pond and will join Patrick to tell him about her Cork roots and upcoming Irish gigs. For the night that’s in it, she will also chat about her own love story and how she ended up marrying her high school sweetheart, over twenty years after they first met.
 
Well-known and loved singer-songwriter Gabrielle will be also joining Patrick and the rest of the crew ahead of her gig in the 3Arena. The 90s icon will be chatting about her meteoric rise to fame, chart success and what's next for her.

She will also be performing two of her smash hits, 'Dreams' and 'Rise'.

Don't miss it! You can watch the show on RTE One at 9.35pm. 

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