Patrick Kielty was announced as Ryan Tubridy’s replacement for The Late Late Show back in May, and fans have been eagerly awaiting his debut ever since.
And the wait is nearly over, as The Late Late Show’s return date has been confirmed.
The iconic chat show will be back on the 15th of September. Sharing the news online, the show released a statement, saying: “We’ll be back on your screens at 9.35 PM on Friday September 15th…See you soon…”
There is currently no information on who will be chatting with Patrick during his first episode, but rumours allude to some big names joining the Down man for his debut.
There has been speculation that sports star such as Roy Keane, Sir Alex Ferguson, Rory McIlroy, and Katie Taylor may appear with Patrick for his first interview.
As well as actors like Jamie Dornan, Liam Neeson, and Saoirse Ronan, along with musicians like Daniel O’Donnell.
The Down native reportedly met with RTÉ last week to discuss their approach to the hit chat show.
A source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: “Patrick was in RTÉ for a few hours. He had a few meetings. It wasn’t an official visit per se; he didn’t meet his team or anything – that will come shortly.”
They reported that Patrick will have “some level of input” when it comes to the production of the series. The Late Late Show team is said to be largely the same, except for a few members, who have moved to different shows.
The publication also reported that the series is hoping to distance itself from the RTÉ Payment Scandal.
With a source telling them: “To be blunt, people are weary about recent events. While of course it’s still very much massively problematic, the reality is everyone wants and needs to look to the future. The payments scandal is still the great big elephant in the room.”
“So the message is that it takes a tiger with a great big roar to demonstrate that brighter, better times are ahead.”
