New RTE Late Late Show host rumours swirl as wife of the late Gay Byrne breaks silence

The wife of the late Gay Byrne has remained diplomatically silent on speculation about who will be the next host of the Late Late Show.

Patrick Kielty is heavily rumoured to be the Friday night chat show's next host.

But Kathleen Watkins is remaining diplomatically silent on speculation, despite her late husband recommending Patrick as next host of the show back in 1999.

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She told us: “I have no comment to make of any kind about the Late Late. I’m so sorry.”

In 1999, the Co Down native confirmed he was offered the job after Gay quit the Late Late Show after 37 years at the helm.

A spokesman for Patrick at the time confirmed: “Yes, it's true, Patrick has been offered the Late Late show job. He is currently studying the offer, along with a number of other offers, and as of yet no official papers have been signed."

But papers were never signed, and the job ended up going to Pat Kenny, who earned a salary of 556,430. By the end of his ten-year role on the show, Kenny netted E950,976.

Now it appears Patrick could be welcomed back into the RTE fold when he told reporters at the IFTAS on the red carpet how hard it is to host a live chat show.

Gay Byrne and his wife Kathleen Watkins (Damien Eagers/PA Wire)

But it appears his wife Cat Deeley let news of negotiations slip when she said they “see” if Patrick gets the job first before having a chat about moving to Ireland.

"The only thing I would say about the Late Late Show is a couple of things. One is that it is one of the greatest TV shows on the planet. Whoever gets that gig is going to be really, really lucky.

"The one thing people have to remember though, is, how big shoes they are to fill.

"You know, I've done a chat show before, I've done a live show before, it's hard. Whenever you've been on the Late Late Show as a guest and sat close to Ryan, you see how he does his stuff."

Meanwhile, Cat hasn't ruled out the pair moving to Ireland if Patrick lands the Late Late Show, stating: "Let's see if we can get it first, we can talk about that then."

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