Patrick Kielty says he will change his phone number when requests for tickets for the Late Late Toy Show start.
The Down man has been confirmed as the next presenter of the Late Late and will replace Ryan Tubridy in September, when the new RTE season starts. The 52-year-old said: “I can’t wait to get started on one of the greatest jobs in television.”
He says he’s overwhelmed by all the messages he’s received since RTE confirmed the news on Saturday. “To everyone who’s got in touch, I can’t thank you enough,” said Kielty.
Read more: Ryan Tubridy says final Late Late will be 'night of celebration' and teases Toy Show reunion
“I’m really looking forward to getting started now - and to changing my number when the requests for The Toy Show tickets start!” The Toy Show was the most-watched programme on Irish TV last year, with over 1.6 million viewers.
Kielty is best known as a comedian but shows a serious side when talking about the Troubles, as his 44-year-old father, Jack, was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1988. Patrick recalls the tragedy in a BBC documentary series ‘Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland’ - with the first episode airing tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.
He said: “I remember going to school and like lots of other kids who were 16, putting up your posters for Comic Relief. And being called to the headmaster’s office and thinking ‘I didn’t ask permission to put these posters up, here we go’.
“The headmaster said, ‘I think you need to sit down’. There was a slow motion but very quick exchange. He said ‘your father’s been shot’. I said ‘is he dead?’ and he said ‘yes’.”
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