He grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, became a stand-up comedian, and now hosts the longest-running chat show in the world. Patrick Kielty has built a career across three broadcasters and two countries, and taking on The Late Late Show put him in one of the most scrutinised jobs in Irish public life. It is a considerably heavier chair than it looks.

Quick Facts

Full name	Patrick Kielty
Born	31 January 1971
Age	55
From	Northern Ireland
Jobs	Comedian, presenter and actor
Main role	Host of The Late Late Show on RTÉ One
Radio	Presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live
Background	Stand-up comedy
Married	Cat Deeley, in 2012
Separated	2025
The Late Late Show	One of the longest-running chat shows in the world
Broadcasters worked with	RTÉ, BBC and others

Who Is Patrick Kielty?

Patrick Kielty was born on 31 January 1971 in Northern Ireland, which makes him 55. He is a comedian, presenter and actor, and hosts The Late Late Show on RTÉ One, as well as presenting a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. That combination of Irish and British broadcasting is unusual and says something about the career he has built.

Stand-Up First

He came from stand-up, which remains the hardest apprenticeship in entertainment. There is no crew, no edit and no format to hide behind, only a room that either laughs or does not. Comedians who move into presenting almost always handle live television better than people who arrive from elsewhere, because they have already survived the worst version of an audience.

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show is one of the longest-running chat shows anywhere in the world and occupies a position in Irish life with no real British equivalent. It is not simply an entertainment programme; it has historically been a place where the country talks to itself about difficult subjects. Taking that chair means accepting a level of national scrutiny that very few presenting jobs carry.

Why That Job Is So Difficult

The scrutiny is the point. Every guest, every question and every tonal decision is discussed publicly the following morning, and the show is expected to be funny, serious, charitable and newsworthy, sometimes within a single episode. Comparable British formats are entertainment. This one carries an expectation of national significance, which is a heavier brief entirely.

Growing Up In Northern Ireland

He grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and that background has informed a considerable amount of his work over the years. He has addressed it in his comedy and his broadcasting at times of his own choosing, with a directness that comes from lived experience rather than research. We report only what he has chosen to discuss publicly.

Comedy And Serious Subjects

What distinguishes him is a willingness to move between comedy and genuinely difficult material without the transition feeling exploitative. That is an unusual register and a hard one to sustain. It also explains why he was a plausible choice for a programme that has to handle a national conversation one week and light entertainment the next.

The Radio Work

Alongside television he presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. Radio suits comedians particularly well, because the format rewards conversation and improvisation rather than polish. Holding down regular radio alongside a weekly television show in another country is a demanding schedule by any measure.

Working Across Two Countries

Maintaining careers in both Irish and British broadcasting is genuinely rare. The two industries are close but distinct, with different audiences, references and sensitivities. Presenters usually settle in one. Doing both means understanding two national conversations well enough not to misjudge either, which is harder than it sounds and considerably harder than it looks.

His Marriage And Separation

He married the presenter Cat Deeley in 2012, and the couple separated in 2025. Both have continued working in their respective countries, and neither has made the separation a subject beyond acknowledging it. We report it because it was widely covered and publicly acknowledged, and we are not going to expand on it further than that.

Two Broadcasters, One Household

For over a decade they were among the more prominent broadcasting couples on either side of the Irish Sea, both fronting major programmes in different countries. That arrangement involves an enormous amount of travel and time apart before you factor in anything else. It is a difficult way to run a family and a great many broadcasting couples have found the same.

What Is His Net Worth?

No verified figure exists and we will not offer one. He has income from RTÉ, the BBC and live comedy, none of it individually disclosed. RTÉ has faced public debate about presenter pay in recent years, but individual figures are not reliably in the public domain. The numbers circulating online are the same guesswork we flagged around Cat Deeley and Alison Hammond.

Where To Watch Him

He presents The Late Late Show on RTÉ One, available in Ireland and widely discussed beyond it, alongside his Saturday programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. For anyone in Britain who knows him only as a comedian, the chat show is where the range shows: he has to be funny, serious and diplomatic in the same hour, most weeks.

The Weight Of A National Institution

It is genuinely difficult to explain to a British audience what The Late Late Show means in Ireland. It has been running since the early 1960s and has functioned as the place where a country worked through subjects it could not discuss elsewhere. Hosting it is not comparable to fronting a British chat show; it is closer to being handed a national institution and being watched closely for how you handle it.

Comedians Make The Best Interviewers

There is a reason so many of the best interviewers came from stand-up. Comedy teaches you to read a room instantly, to know when a line is not working and to change direction without the audience noticing. Applied to an interview, that becomes the ability to abandon a prepared question because the guest has said something more interesting. Paddy McGuinness brought the same instinct to motoring television.

Working Across The Irish Sea

Sustaining careers in both Irish and British broadcasting simultaneously is genuinely rare, and it requires more than availability. The two audiences have different reference points, different sensitivities and different histories, and a joke that lands in one can misfire badly in the other. Doing both weekly, in different formats, means holding two national conversations in your head at once.

Ireland And Britain Watch Differently

Anyone working across both countries has to hold two audiences in mind at once. Irish television carries a directness about politics, religion and history that British entertainment tends to avoid, while British formats lean harder on irony. A presenter moving weekly between them has to adjust register without appearing to, which is a genuinely difficult professional habit to maintain for years.

Final Thoughts

Patrick Kielty is 55, came out of Northern Irish stand-up and now hosts a programme that a whole country treats as a national institution. Doing that while keeping a British radio show running is an unusual double life. Watch an episode of The Late Late Show and notice how often the tone changes, and how rarely he gets it wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Patrick Kielty?

He was born on 31 January 1971 in Northern Ireland, which makes him 55 as of 2026.

What show does Patrick Kielty host?

He hosts The Late Late Show on RTÉ One, one of the longest-running chat shows in the world.

Was Patrick Kielty married to Cat Deeley?

Yes. They married in 2012 and separated in 2025. Both have continued working in their respective countries.

Does Patrick Kielty do radio?

Yes, he presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live alongside his television work.

What did Patrick Kielty do before presenting?

He began as a stand-up comedian in Northern Ireland before moving into television and radio presenting.

What is Patrick Kielty’s net worth?

No verified figure exists. Individual presenter pay is not reliably public, so published estimates are guesswork.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and reports publicly available details and what Patrick Kielty has chosen to discuss publicly. We do not publish estimated net worth figures or speculate about private matters.