Late Late special’s Bea-utiful line-up..
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Paddy Kielty with Aisling Bea and Domhnall Gleeson on Late Late last night
PATRICK Kielty had his “first date” as host of The Late Late Show Valentine’s special last night – with four different partners.
Hollywood actor Domhnall Gleeson was joined by Aisling Bea, Laura Whitmore and American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan in a star-studded line-up.
Patrick’s first guest was Domhnall, who joked: “I did not know this was a Valentine’s Day special – I would not have agreed to come on!”
He then spoke about his most recent romantic work project,
Alice and Jack, a Channel 4 drama series which will start on Valentine’s night, next
Wednesday.
Domhnall, who plays the role of Jack, said: “It’s about two people called Alice and Jack and it’s set over 15 years.
BUSY “They meet in their late 20s on a dating app and they are not quite ready for love.
“And then we follow them over 15 years as their love kind of destroys them and people around them, but it is the only thing they can live for. It’s quite an epic love story.”
Domhnall also revealed how, on his own first date, he went to see a movie with his dad Brendan Gleeson making an unexpected appearance.
He said: “That was strange. One of the trailers was I think for Lake Placid and my dad was in it. I remember just seeing his big face looking down at me, and feeling so terribly judged. It was absolutely awful.”
Patrick’s second guest last night was Aisling Bea, who plays a supporting role in Alice and Jack.
The Valentine’s special was another first for the host since he took over from Ryan Tubridy in the hot-seat last September.
He was also at the helm for the Late Late Show Country Music Special last October, which drew an average audience of 548,000 people.
That was topped the following month when he took charge of the Toy Show, which pulled in an average viewership of almost 1.5 million people.
Last night, all in the name of love, hundreds of thousands more viewers tuned in for a night of fun-filled romance.
Patrick took a fresh approach to the annual Valentine’s special, as he was in charge of keeping 200 singletons in check.
As well as being a ratings hit, the February special tends to be one of the most complained-about shows.
In 2017, it received over 300 complaints from viewers, which included a blind date segment, a sex advice panel, Crystal Swing and free sex aids.
Unfortunately for Kielty, he won’t have a romantic Valentine’s night himself this year as his wife, Cat Deeley, will be busy working in America.