Patrick Kielty has revealed how his sons have helped him prepare for The Late Late Toy Show.
The 52-year-old is set to make his Toy Show hosting debut next Friday, November 24.
The comedian took over the helm of RTÉ’s flagship programme from Ryan Tubridy in September for its 61st season.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment about hosting the biggest night of the year, Patrick said: “The people that have hosted the Toy Show and the weight of expectation… you try not to think about those things. It’s a big, big night.”
On growing up in Dundrum, Co. Down, the dad-of-two explained: “My dad owned the building company, and so you had that thing of the last Friday before Christmas when everybody got paid in the village.”
“Our house in Dundrum is right beside the chapel, so after midnight mass, everybody would call in. Anybody from people that my dad had done business with to the postman. Everybody got a Christmas drink in our house and there was always a turkey sandwich on the go.”
“So, our house would have always been an open house and all the better for it.”
“Evel Knievel would have been a big toy in our house,” he recalled, mindful he was “showing his age”.
“I remember we had a remote-controlled Jeep one year, which instead of plugging in the battery… I plugged it straight into the wall and almost burnt the house down on Christmas morning!”
Patrick married his wife Cat Deeley in 2012, and the couple share two sons – Milo, 7, and James, 5.
“Having a five and a seven-year-old has basically meant that there’s been seven years of preparation for the Toy Show,” the comedian said.
Picture: Andres Poveda
“The amount of Lego that I have built, the amount of Lego that I have stood on, the amount of toys that I have fixed, the amount of toys that I have built over the years… I would say that’s the prep.”
“The prep is real life.”
Patrick also revealed he’s been spending “a lot” of time in the costume department, as well as “stretching” ahead of his Toy Show hosting debut.
