Patrick Kielty praised as ‘breath of fresh air’ after first Late Late Show

Patrick Kielty’s first time presenting The Late Late Show on RTE has been commended as “emotionally moving” and having “plenty of laughs”.

The comedian, 52, took over from Ryan Tubridy as the fourth regular host of the programme and told viewers on Friday “there’s no way I ever thought that I’d be standing here this evening”.

The show included several close-to-the-bone references about the controversies that have engulfed Ireland’s national broadcaster, as well as featuring Wrexham football star James McClean saying he is “proud” to be on the spectrum following his autism diagnosis.

Sinn Fein politician Reada Cronin said on X, formerly Twitter, said: “Watched #LateLateShow on +1 and have to say Patrick Kielty was a breath of fresh air.

“An emotionally moving start, plenty of laughs and overall an All Ireland show. Job well done.”

Hector O hEochagain, Laurita Blewitt and Tommy Tiernan were the first celebrities to appear on the show, followed by guests including comedy duo The 2 Johnnies and McClean.

Irish Gaelic footballer Kevin Cassidy first tweeted: “So the late late show is now basically Johnathan Ross but with a different presenter??”

Before the sportsman added: “In fairness to Kielty a tough job to take on but he has totally changed things up and made it his own.

“More comfortable, more relaxed and more open. McClean Brilliant.”

During the show, McClean spoke about his six-year-old daughter who has autism and said that his life had “completely changed for the better” since her birth.

He also mentioned that she was the reason he got tested himself and said: “I was hesitant for a while about going and getting tested and getting a diagnosis because obviously, the job I do, it would just be ammunition to give people.

“But I just thought, you know what, I’m doing this for my daughter. If it helps me get a better understanding of her.

“I went and done the test and it came back that I’m also on the spectrum and I’m proud of it.”

Former Gaelic football manager and Social Democratic and Labour Party politician Justin McNulty tweeted: “James McClean bravely bared his soul telling about how he courageously confronted one of life’s challenges #LateLateShow.”

He added: “Patrick Kielty’s 1st #LateLateShow was interesting, surprising, serious, funny, entertaining and brilliant!

“He has certainly put his own stamp on Ireland’s flagship television show.”

Kielty opened the show with a monologue about the crisis rocking Ireland’s national broadcaster over the summer.

Irish writer Gareth O’Callaghan tweeted: “Great monologue to open from PK – oops just realised! Patrick Kielty, not the other PK!

“Sharp wit, and beautiful story about his family. Loved his shout out to his two boys.”

In the monologue, Kielty said: “By the way, in case you hadn’t noticed, folks, everything in here tonight is new.

“We’ve got a new opening. We’ve got a new logo and we’ve got a brand new house band for you folks, give it up for Grant Thornton And The Flip Flops…”

Grant Thornton is the auditor that investigated the misreported RTE payment scandal.

One of the controversial payments uncovered was for 200 pairs of flip flops bought by the commercial department for a summer party for clients.

Kielty added: “We also have a shiny new set. What do we think of this? There we go. No expense spared. Or if you’re the host, no expenses spared.

“Taxi? But we wanted to make a special effort for you tonight folks, because apparently lots of folks are tuning in this evening which is really very exciting.

“Based on the latest figures for TV licence payments, we’re expecting an audience of up to 27 people tuning in tonight.

“Just to put that into perspective, that’s almost double the amount of people who saw Toy Show The Musical.”

Toy Show The Musical is a musical based on The Late Late Toy Show.

Kielty went on: “This is where the RTE executives in the green room realise they might have booked the wrong pony.”

RTE has been reeling since revelations earlier in the summer that it misreported the salary paid to former star presenter Tubridy between 2017 and 2022.

The furore around the payments to Tubridy became a wider crisis for the national broadcaster amid further disclosures about RTE’s internal financial, accounting and governance practices and its expenditure on corporate hospitality for advertising clients.

RTE’s spending through a so-called barter account has come in for intense scrutiny since it emerged that the broadcaster paid 150,000 euro to Tubridy through one such account, as part of an undisclosed commercial arrangement with a sponsor.

RTE has also faced criticism for using barter transactions to spend hundreds of thousands of euro entertaining commercial clients, including on a trip to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Tubridy stood down as The Late Late Show host earlier this year but was continuing to present his weekday show on RTE Radio One when the controversy over incorrectly disclosed payments erupted in the summer.

At that point, negotiations over a new radio contract for Tubridy were halted and he was taken off air amid the crisis that engulfed the organisation.

Director general Kevin Bakhurst later re-entered negotiations with a view to securing Tubridy’s return to the radio airwaves on a new contract, but those talks broke down in August after Mr Bakhurst claimed the presenter was not taking sufficient responsibility for his role in the payments controversy.

Pushing the jokes to one side, Kielty also spoke about his grandfather and how he was the reason behind him watching The Late Late Show with his brothers when he was growing up.