RTE star who's ‘closest thing to Gay Byrne' tipped as next Late Late Show host if Patrick Kielty doesn't renew contract
The top chat show job will become available if
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Patrick Kielty is approaching the last year of his three-year deal as Late Late Show host
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Oliver Callan is the early front-runner to become the next Late Late Show host
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Patrick took over the role from former host Ryan Tubridy
The Co Down man will be in the last year of his three-year deal when the programme resumes in September.
Patrick, married to
And whatever he decides, Montrose insiders believe comedian Callan, 44, could be a possible contender to host the
One told
READ MORE ON LATE LATE SHOW
'Oliver can talk about the
'If Patrick hasn't made up his mind about renewing his contract, RTE have the perfect Late Late host in the wings.'
His stint is nearly two months shorter than the previous host,
Asked what he planned to do when his €250,000-a-year Late Late deal runs out next year, Kielty told us last July: "Renewing my contract is something I hadn't thought about.
Most read in The Irish Sun
"I love doing the show and if there was a chance to keep doing it, it would be nice but you are not in charge of these things and you never know what happens in the world of entertainment."
The TV presenter also has to consider wife Cat's career — with the 48-year-old now a co-host of
RTE viewers in stitches at John Giles' cheeky one-word answer to Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show
And
A station insider told us: 'Patrick got RTE through the Ryan Tubridy scandal. They are very grateful to him for that. But Oliver is on the rise.'
'EXTREMELY FORTUNATE'
RTE told The Irish Sun they are 'extremely fortunate' to have Patrick as the Late Late's host, adding: 'We look forward to another great season with him at the helm.'
The station said that the 30 episodes of The Late Late Show from September 13, 2024, to May 9, 2025 had an average audience of 390,000, with an audience share of 37 per cent.
That's down on the previous year when 28 episodes of The Late Late Show from September 15, 2023, to April 19, 2024, which had an average audience of 442,000 and an audience share of 39 per cent.
RADIO RISE
Separately, New JNLR figures released this month showed
The Nob Nation star now has 355,000 listeners on his
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Callan has been described as the closest thing to Gay Byrne RTE has ever had
Credit: Instagram / @olivercallanshow
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