Patrick Kielty favourite to take over the Late Late Show: Here's who else is in the running
On Duties? Take Who Hosting Is To Likely
Patrick Kielty is the current favourite to take over from Ryan Rubridy on the country's biggest chat show.
It comes after Claire Byrne officially took herself out of the running to be Ryan Tubridy's replacement on the Late Late Show. The TV and radio presenter's statement on the matter was closely followed by a similar one from fellow candidate, Sarah McInerney.
Since Tubridy announced his decision to step down as host of the Late Late Show, rumours surrounding the Dubliner's replacement have been rife.
On May 8, Paddy Power "pulled the plug" on its Late Late Show host market after an abundance of bets for Co Down man, Patrick Kielty. Kielty emerged as the favoruite after Byrne and McInerney took themselves out of the running.
A number of presenters and journalists were previously tipped to take over Tubridy's role on the late-night chat show. Here's what we know so far...
Recently, comedian Patrick Kielty has emerged as a frontrunner for the Late Late Show gig. Following the news of Claire Byrne and Sarah McInerney taking themselves out of the running for the gig, he is now the current favourite for the role.
The Co Down native is married to TV host Cat Deeley. In a recent interview, Deeley said she thinks he husband would do a “phenomenal” job as host of the late-night chat show. She said she believes he has the right balance of entertainment and politics, “and he’s got skin in the game”.
Kielty is an award-winning stand-up comedian and has plenty of presenting gigs under his belt too. The 51-year-old has hosted Last Chance Lottery for CH4 as well as his own BBC chat show, Patrick Kielty Almost Live. The father of two also has a radio talk show on BBC 5Live.
Rachael Kane, a spokesperson for Paddy Power, said: “Things quietened down in the betting over the past couple of weeks but we had an explosion of activity yesterday. It was all one-way traffic, with customers willing to back Patrick Kielty no matter what the price and we therefore made the decision to pull the plug.
According to Ladbrokes, Claire Byrne had been the favourite to replace Ryan Tubridy. So much so that the bookies had suspended betting on the Late Late Show host, as sources suggested Byrne was "all but a done deal".
Following speculation about Patrick Kielty, Ladbrokes reopened the book. However, Byrne has since said she won't be taking on Tubridy's role.
The RTÉ radio presenter explained that her love of her radio programme and her young family were the main reasons why she does not want to take the job.
In a post to Instagram, she said: "I have a young family, a busy home life and a full-time radio job that I love, and right now, that is enough for me.
"While I’d never rule out other TV projects, the Late Late Show should be presented by someone who can give it the time and dedication that it deserves."
Speaking on Byrne's decision, Tubridy said he believed she “did the right thing”.
"Claire made a really smart decision,” he said on his radio show.
The Laois native currently presents Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1 Monday to Friday. Last May, the journalist stepped away from her TV role, Claire Byrne Live, citing that the decision was a result of her wanting to spend more time with her family.
It was after Miriam O'Callaghan took herself out of the running, that bookies saw Byrne move to the top of the pecking order.
Drivetime presenter Sarah McInerney raised eyebrows when she shared that the Late Late Show had started to follow her on social media shortly after Tubridy announced his decision to step down.
However, following Claire Byrne's statement, McInerney also ruled out the possibility of her becoming the next host of the chat show.
The Galway native had been among the list of favourites to take over as host of the Late Late Show, with many people speculating that the next presenter may be female.
"I'd like to confirm that I'm not taking over The Late Late Show from either Ryan Tubridy or James Corden," she said in a post to social media.
"Though the prospect of grilling young children over their toy choices every December would be enticing, I let RTÉ management know a couple of weeks ago that I wouldn't be throwing my hat in the ring."
After announcing that he was leaving the show, Tubridy wished his replacement good luck "whoever she may be” which has further fueled rumours of a female taking to the role.
When the announcement of Tubridy stepping down was made, Miriam O’Callaghan was tipped as the favourite to take over the show.
However, O’Callaghan announced that she will not be in the running to become host of the popular chat show.
While the speculation linking her to the role was "very flattering", she said she has no desire to leave her current job as co-host of Prime Time.
“I love what I do too much on Prime Time to leave it, and what we do in current affairs as a team really matters, and can actually change lives. It’s what I love doing most of all as a broadcast journalist, and I’m not prepared to give that up for any show,” she said.
The Prime Time and Sunday with Miriam presenter was also the bookies' favourite to take the Late Late hot seat after Pat Kenny departed the show back in 2009.
With his own show on RTÉ Radio 1, Ray D'Arcy remains among those tipped to take over from Tubridy on the Late Late Show.
Eight years ago, the Kildare native returned to the RTÉ airwaves after his time at Today FM. Prior to that, he spent over ten years presenting children’s TV programmes on RTÉ.
Brendan O’Connor is another name that is hotly tipped to take over from Tubs. The Cork presenter is no stranger to chat shows, having presented The Saturday Night show from 2010 to 2015 as well as Cutting Edge.
The 53-year-old currently presents The Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 every Saturday and Sunday.
Baz Ashmawy has also emerged as another favourite to take over the country’s biggest TV gig. There’s a chance the popular presenter is front of mind as of late with the return of DIY SOS, but unfortunately for Baz fans, the 47-year-old has confirmed that he has not been contacted by anyone at RTÉ about the Late Late Show.
Rumours had been circulating about the possibility of him presenting the show with Lucy Kennedy.
Speaking on the speculation, he told sundayworld.com: “I love Lucy and I don’t know about her, but no one has spoken to me about it. I think it’s just people having a little bit of fun and mixing up the bookies a bit.
“I think people are just very excited at the moment about the Late Late Show. It seems to be the main obsession and I think they’re just throwing everybody’s name into the mix.”
Amongst the names currently doing the rounds is Today Show host, Dáithí Ó Sé. The Kerry man, who also hosts the Rose of Tralee, has previously said that he would never say no to the gig.
He told Irish Daily Mirror in 2020: “There is no presenter in the country that would turn down The Late Late Show, it’s the highest paid gig going and it has the most viewers.
No stranger to TV, Howth native Vogue Williams has been appearing on bookies' favourites list over the past number of weeks. The mother-of-three co-hosts the very popular My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast with her friend and comedian, Joanne McNally.
But Williams has also revealed that she has not put her name forward for the Late Late Show.
“No, I haven’t signed myself up for it,” she told the Irish Mirror.
She admitted that she would have liked to have seen Miriam O’Callaghan in the role. “She’s great but she pulled herself out which is really disappointing because I thought she would be really, really good at it,” she said.
The comedian's popular show, aptly titled the Tommy Tiernan Show, has seen the host talk to many interesting guests — without knowing who he is getting.
The popular RTÉ show has undoubtedly earned the 53-year-old a spot amongst the list of favourites for the Late Late Show gig.
In a recent interview with the Irish Examiner, Tiernan joked: "I haven’t any missed calls." He added it "wouldn’t make a fierce amount of sense" for him to take on the Late Late gig.
"You know, I’m already hosting the Late Late Show, under a different name, the following night. But I don’t know, I mean also, I’m very expensive."
Tiernan also hosts a podcast with Laurita Blewitt and Hector Ó hEochagáin.
Donegal native Daniel O'Donnell had also emerged as a favourite to replace Tubridy at one stage, according to Ladbrokes.
The singer shot to the top spot in March but he recently ruled himself out of the role, telling Newstalk's The Hard Shoulder that he never ruled himself in for the job. "It's a very difficult show to do," he added.