Patrick Kielty: "Christmas will be in Dundrum this year"

Ahead of the biggest TV night of the year, host Patrick Kielty spoke with Janice Butler about making the Toy Show his own, why he's the real deal on screen and Christmas excitement at home with his kids.

This time last year, the Irish TV spotlight was on Patrick Kielty ahead of his first ever Late Late Toy Show. Would he be able to bear the weight of Ireland’s most treasured TV show? Following in the footsteps of Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny and Ryan Tubridy, the man from Dundrum, Co Down, had a lot to live up to.

He could have been forgiven for being nervous. When the credits rolled on that magical Friday last November, he needn’t have worried: the reviews were resoundingly positive. With his likeability, wit and ability to think on his feet during the inevitable unpredictable moments, Patrick Kielty easily transformed into the Toy Man.

He’s at home in London, where he lives with his wife, fellow TV host, Cat Deeley, and their two sons, Milo (8) and James (6). He admits that he wasn’t the only one who was nervous about his performance on the famous show last year.

"Nothing prepares you for hosting the Toy Show and the buzz you have during it. I felt a lot of people in the building were stopping me last year, in a concerned way, asking how I was feeling. It became apparent that they worried about me doing it, rather than the other way around," he laughs. "It was kind of like 'You’re not going to mess up our Toy Show?’ So, I think there was relief all round when it went well."

He’s well into his second season of the long-running chat show and feels he’s got his "feet under the desk". He’s already had a career high this autumn, getting to interview and listen to the talents of one of his icons, Christy Moore. "That was just surreal. I got to meet the Pope during the summer, and I wasn’t nearly as nervous meeting him as I was having Christy Moore on the show," he laughs. "He’s such a part of growing up and his music, for me, is a soundtrack to good times and bad times in my life, so to be sitting beside him, I found it hard to hold it together. It was a big moment for me."

The audience saw Patrick getting emotional during that conversation and it’s not the first time the comedian has allowed himself to be vulnerable on screen.

"You can only be yourself," he says. "I used to try and hold that stuff in a bit more but now I reckon, if you’re feeling something, then feel it and move on."

Back to the show at hand, Patrick jokes that this time last year, he was able to go about his life without being noticed by the children of Ireland. However, that has all changed and he’s firmly on their radar now. "The big difference between this year and last year is the kids didn’t know who I was last year. When we were auditioning the kids last year, none of them knew who I was but suddenly this year, that ship has sailed; you’re now the man who's doing the Toy Show. The Toy Show is essentially like hosting the biggest kids' birthday party in the world," he laughs.

As for many years of the show, there will be a theme this year, but of course he’s "sworn to secrecy" until the day of the show. He remarks that even his family in Dundrum have been trying to coax some intel from him. "I was staying with my brother recently and one of his kids started casually throwing in questions about the theme, trying to get me to break. You kind of have to have your guard up with it, no matter who you’re with!"

At home with the family, Patrick’s involvement with a big show about toys and Christmas has filtered through to his two boys, Milo and James. He says they’re very much in Christmas mode and understand all the more the importance of his role on the Toy Show this year.

"We’ve started early at home. A couple of the Toy Show ‘Write a letter to Santa’ kits landed into the office, so I brought them home for the kids. Our pair are bang in that sweet spot, aged six and eight, so when they saw them, they couldn’t believe they were from the Toy Show and of course insisted they write them then and there," he says. "Seeing our two so excited about that kit and you’re hosting that show, it makes me realise that life moves a lot quicker than you think and you’ve got to really enjoy those moments, it’s absolutely magic," he says, with some emotion.

When the outgoing government decided to hold the general election on the last Friday in November – Toy Show night – TV bosses moved the extravaganza to the first Friday in December for the first time. Does it make any difference to Patrick Kielty? "It will be interesting to see if people wait now to stick the tree up on Toy Show night, since it’s a bit later. I think it’s going to feel pretty special this year with it so close to Christmas," he answers. "I didn’t mind either way, I’d do it in September or January! I’m just so thrilled to be doing it. All that other stuff is above my pay grade."

One of the bonuses for Patrick working on the Late Late Show is that he gets to go home to Dundrum more often, where his mother Mary lives. His father Jack was shot and killed by the UFF in 1988, when Patrick was only 16.

Family and getting that time with his mother is hugely important to him. "For me personally, just to get a couple of nights a week to go home with the family is great, it’s a real bonus.

"We would have spent a fair bit of time in Dundrum anyway. Christmas will be in Dundrum this year and we had the lads there during the summer and they didn’t want to go home. The eldest fella was playing in the Cúl Camp, they were fully engaged in it and keep asking when we’re going ‘home’," he adds.

So, when the lights are turned off, the music has stopped, the kids have left the building, and another Toy Show done, all that will be left is for Patrick and his family to enjoy Christmas in his hometown, soaking up the magic of it all.

"We’ll take a week or a couple of weeks over Christmas at home, get the Toy Show pajamas on and chill out after a mad few weeks."