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The Late Late Show is Ireland's (and the world's) longest running chat show and the flagship television programme of Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ). The show, hosted by Pat Kenny, is broadcast live for two hours in front of a studio audience at 21:30 on Friday nights between September and May. It is broadcast from Studio 4 in RTÉ's headquarters, a studio specifically adapted in 1995 to cater for this flagship production, and Kenny Live. The show was previously broadcast on Saturday nights.

The Late Late Show was first broadcast on Friday, 6 July 1962 at 23:20. Since then, its format has remained largely the same, with music, chat, and audience involvement in debates on topical issues. The show's rapid rise to popularity led it to top the ratings consistently on RTÉ for forty years. Some sociologists have credited it with influencing Irish attitudes towards many issues.

Hosts

Gay Byrne

When the show was launched, its original presenter was Gay Byrne, a young Irish broadcaster who had been working with Granada Television in Britain. Byrne remained the presenter for thirty-seven years until retiring in 1999. His 37 year stewardship of The Late Late Show means that he has hosted a chat show longer than any other presenter. Indeed, Byrne's style of presentation is credited as contributing largely to the show's success. Internationally Byrne's presentation style has been studied by 'would be' chat show hosts in many countries.

Although the show began as a light summer "filler" in 1962, it soon became a forum for controversial opinion and debate. Topics such as divorce, contraception and a number of hitherto undiscussed areas were now being debated openly on television. Politician Oliver J. Flanagan, when a guest on the show, claimed that there was "no sex in Ireland before television," reflecting the greater openness which The Late Late seemed to have brought to Irish society and culture. The show appeared to represent the new liberalism of the 1960s in Ireland when the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, was attacked by a guest in the show's first series. It is difficult to explain today just how sensational and shocking so many people in Ireland found this event to be. The country was devoutly Roman Catholic.

This incident was just one of a number of incidents that have gone down the folklore associated with the programme. The Late Late Show, with Byrne as host, was never reluctant to introduce controversial topics, topics which needed to be discussed in a progressive, post-protectionist Ireland. Other controversies include:

• The Bishop and the Nightie Affair: In 1966 a minor furore erupted when the Bishop of Galway condemned The Late Late Show as immoral. The condemnation stems from a small item on the show in which Byrne was interviewing a number of couples to see how well they knew each other. Byrne asked a young woman if she could remember what colour her nightdress was on the first night of her married life. The woman innocently replied that she might not have worn one. This response was received with laughter by Byrne and the studio audience; however the Bishop felt the need to protest against this "filthy" programme. The furore died down after a number of weeks, but is still remembered.

• Brian Trevaskis: Not long after the show began in the 1960s there was a particular debate on the programme about the Catholic Church. Brian Trevaskis, a young student, criticised the Bishop of Galway for not helping the underprivileged, who instead built a large new cathedral which Trevaskis described as a "monstrosity." Travaskis also criticised the Bishop's Christian views. The insults proved too much and the student was brought back on the programme the following week to make an apology. On the second show Trevaskis went further referring to the Bishop as a "moron." The controversy which surrounded the statement proved too much and Trevaskis subsequently committed suicide.

• Peter Brooke: In 1992 the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Brooke appeared on The Late Late Show. After a pleasant interview, Byrne coaxed and goaded the politician into singing Oh My Darling, Clementine on a day when seven Protestant construction workers had been killed by an IRA bomb. Brooke was humiliated, and subsequently lost his position as Secretary of State to Sir Patrick Mayhew after the 1992 British General Election in April.

• Terry Keane: The Late Late Show continued to cause controversy right up to Byrne's departure. On his second last show he interviewed the gossip columnist Terry Keane, who went on to reveal a long affair with the former Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey.

During Byrne's Late Late Show a number of shows were devoted entirely to paying tribute to some person or persons. A number of celebrities who were the subject of such shows include Micheál MacLiammoir, Maureen Potter, Micheál Ó Hehir, Brian Lenihan, Jimmy Magee, Christy Moore, Mike Murphy and Paul McGrath. There were also special programmes marking the six-month anniversary of the Omagh Bomb, paying tribute to The Chieftains and The Dubliners, celebrating Irish music and a Late Late Show special devoted to Irish comedians.

Producer and director

The flexibility of the show was augmented by Byrne's position not merely as the show's presenter but also as its producer and director for much of his period with the show. He intentionally reminded the viewer that the show was being broadcast live through his interaction with people working behind the scenes. Some of his phrases became well known; when instructing that a piece of videotape be played, he invariably announced 'you can roll it there, Colette', chat to the floor manager, inquiring as to what telephone line a caller was ringing in on, and on some shows would extend its running time by fifteen or thirty minutes, discussing the extra running time with the floor staff and production team as an 'aside' during an interview. The effect of all these mannerisms was said to add to the sense of realism in the show, that, as the theme music at the end of the show stated, 'it started on The Late Late Show.' (This was a clip of a Nat King Cole song 'The Late Late Show', which appeared on his 1959 album 'Big Band Cole').

Byrne's Final show

Byrne presented his last Late Late Show on Friday, May 21, 1999. The show, beginning at 21:30 lasted a marathon four hours, twice as long as a normal Late Late Show. The tributes poured in for Gay Byrne from all quarters and there were many high-profile guests. There were musical performances from The Corrs, Christy Moore, Sarah Brightman and Rosaleen Linehen. U2 members Bono and Larry Mullen presented Byrne with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a retirement present. There were glowing tributes for Byrne from President Mary McAleese, An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Billy Connolly, Des Cahill, Larry Gogan, Mike Murphy, Marian Finucane, Merv Griffin and various other celebrities.

Frank Hall

In the late 1960s, with the start of BBC 2, Byrne decided to return to British television, where his career had originally began. The Late Late Show was passed to another stalwart presenter, Frank Hall. After one year, Byrne agreed to return to RTÉ to present his old show, augmented by his own award winning radio show.

Pat Kenny

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Pat Kenny in 1999 succeeded Byrne who had presented the show for 37 years.

When Byrne left, the Late Late Show dominated RTÉ's TAM ratings viewership figures, coming in consistently either at number 1 or number 2. Some suggested in media columns in the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times that the show be dropped and that the show's success was too linked with Byrne to work with any other presenter. RTÉ however retained the show as it was a powerful brand which attracted extensive advertising revenue. Contemporary media reports speculated that comedians and chat show hosts Patrick Kielty and Graham Norton might be asked to present it, and that Byrne suggested Joe Duffy as a successor. However, RTÉ gave the show to Byrne's chat show rival, Pat Kenny, who for nearly a decade had presented his own Kenny Live show the Saturday night time slot. Even after seven years at the helm of the show Kenny is regularly criticised in the media for his style of presentation.

Kenny and his staff changed many aspects of the Late Late Show. Its' distinctive title music was changed, as was the set design and studio layout. Guests, instead of remaining on, were to be only involved in their own segment of the show. The new set abandoned the traditional presenter's desk. Unlike Byrne, Kenny had his guests announced in advance. Other than the name and the use of an owl as the show's symbol, and a traditional toy show edition,, little of the original has not been revamped. Even the show's two catch-phrases, "it started on The Late Late Show", and "one for everyone in the audience" were dropped.

Styles of Byrne and Kenny

Kenny's career as a broadcaster has been extensive, having been a continuity announcer, radio disk jockey, television current affairs presenter, current affairs programme anchor, chat show host in two separate, highly rated shows. Kenny's early radio career mirrored that of Byrne's, but Kenny's repertoire is much broader than that of Byrne. Whereas Byrne's broadcasting was generally at the light entertainment end of the spectrum, Kenny has broadcasted three chat shows, a shortlived chat show in the 1980s, Kenny Live and The Late Late Show, while also presenting general election coverage of the 1992 election on RTÉ and being one of three presenters of the award-winning current affairs programme Today Tonight. Byrne describes himself as an entertainer first.

Kenny describes his style:

Do you want bland television where everything you hear reinforces your own view, or do you want to be challenged? I favour the latter. I like to challenge people. You might get angry and pick up the phone to Joe Duffy, or you might complain to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission; that's great. It means you're involved in the argument in some way.

Due to his long association with the show, Byrne in his autobiography seemed to almost have proprietarial rights, having been both producer and presenter of the show. Kenny was the subject of much media criticism for his takeover from Byrne.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). and the imminent arrival of a competing television chat show by controversial broadcaster Eamon Dunphy on the rival channel TV3. However, Dunphy's show failed to achieve expected viewership figures and was scrapped in December 2003 after a short run.

Famous or infamous guests

The List of The Late Late Show guests lists very many, among whom some of the more notable over 40 years have been:

• Annie Murphy, mistress of disgraced Irish Catholic Bishop, Eamon Casey
• Ben Elton, author and comedian
• Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian
• Bob Geldof, lead singer with the Boomtown Rats and founder of Live Aid
• Bono, lead singer with U2
• Cathal Daly, retired Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh
• Clannad, Irish band
• Cyril Cusack, famous Irish actor
• Dana, Ireland's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
• David Niven, actor
• Viscount Linley, nephew of Queen Elizabeth II
• Desmond Connell Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin
• Diana Dors
• Dustin the Turkey, comedian
• Dusty Springfield, singer
• Eamon Casey, subsequently disgraced Irish Catholic Bishop
• Elton John, singer and songwriter
• Enya, singer and songwriter
• Fred Astaire, American actor, singer and dancer
• George Best, celebrated Northern Irish soccer player
• Jack Charlton, then Irish soccer manager
• Joanna Lumley, star of Absolutely Fabulous
• Liam Gallagher, lead singer with Oasis
• Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
• Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland
• Michelle McManus, winner of Pop Idol UK
• Micheál MacLiammoir, famous gay Irish actor
• Mickey Rooney, American actor
• Mother Teresa of Calcutta
• Noel Gallagher, from Oasis pop group
• Padraig Flynn, politician (who was eccentric on the show)
• Patrick Duffy, US television actor and star of 'Dallas'
• Paul Brady, songwriter
• Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• Peter O'Toole, actor
• Peter Sellers, actor
• Richard Branson, businessman
• Ronan Keating, singer
• Samantha Mumba, singer
• Sarah, Duchess of York ex-wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York
• Sinéad O'Connor, singer
• Sonia O'Sullivan, Olympic silver medalist
• Steve Willis, Broadcaster & Journalist
• Tommy Tiernan, comedian

Artists whose first television appearance was on the Late Late Show

• Boyzone
• Boomtown Rats
• Sinéad O'Connor
• U2

Footnotes

1. RTE press release, issued May 1999 on the retirement of Gay Byrne.
2. RTÉ Guide. The Late Late Show and a soap opera, Glenroe, regularly swapped positions, being either 1 or 2.
3. Sorry, Pat, but you're no Gay Byrne.. — Sunday Independent, 27 August 2006
4. An instrumental version of the Chris Andrews 1965 UK Top Twenty hit 'To Whom It Concerns'
5. When the presenter and specially brings in children looked at the latest toys available for the Christmas market.
6. when having shown some item on the show, Byrne would announce how there was "one for everyone in the audience" to audience delirium.
7. The Time of My Life: An Autobiography Author: Byrne, Gay & Deirdre Purcell. Published by Gill & Macmillan Dublin 1989. ISBN 0-7171-1615-8.
8. The Time of My Life: An Autobiography Author: Byrne, Gay & Deirdre Purcell ISBN 0-7171-1615-8.

External links

• Official website
• Audio extract of Brian Trevaskis's second Late Late Show appearance (Windows Media Player)

Template:RTEp

• Irish television programmes
• Television talk shows
• Variety television series