THE LATE LATE Show will return to our screens next month with not only a new face presenting, but also a new programme logo and a shorter run-time.

Co Down man Patrick Kielty is the new host, taking over duties from Ryan Tubridy, and will present his first Late Late Show on 15 September.

On 16 March, Tubridy announced his decision to step down from the Late Late after more than 14 years in the role.

Tubridy has denied that there is any link between his stepping down from the Late Late and revelations about the discrepancy between his earnings and what RTÉ said he was being paid.

He was due to continue his radio gig, but RTÉ’s director general Kevin Bakhurst announced last week that Tubridy will not be returning to his RTÉ Radio 1 slot as trust had “broken down”.

Tubridy stopped hosting the show in June following controversy over his salary at the broadcaster.

His eponymous “The Ryan Tubridy Show” was this morning re-named “The Nine O’Clock Show”, with comedian Oliver Callan filling in.

Callan commented on this morning’s show that there is a “sense of wrong that he (Tubridy) won’t be heard here again”. 

“We’re sorry and sad to see him go,” said Callan, “just as we’re sorry and sad to see the harm that’s been done towards RTÉ by all of the scandals, and there should be a reckoning for all of those behind all of it.

“The payments, the golden handshakes, the musical, the junkets – every last flip-flop.”

Callan added: “There’s a bit of a lesson, I think, as well, on graciously and humbly accepting second chances when they’re being offered to you.”

Reduced shows and run-time

Kielty has signed a three-season deal to host the Late Late and his contract will be worth €250,000.

However, both the number of episodes and the show’s run-time will be shortened.

A typical season of the Late Late Show previously had between 35 and 37 episodes and a run-time of around two hours.

The upcoming season will include 30 episodes and an RTÉ spokesperson told The Journal that the show duration will be around 90 minutes.

Kielty will also receive a once-off payment of €20,000 for pre-production and rehearsals before the show returns to TV screens next month.

Kielty has also waived flight and accommodation expenses and said he will seek to “carbon offset” his flights from his London home to Dublin to record the Late Late.

“I genuinely hope this helps clarify things going forward,” said Kielty in June when announcing details of his RTÉ contract.

“I can’t wait to get started.”

New logo but no sponsor

As well as a new host and run-time, the Late Late also has a new logo.

Gone is the iconic owl, and in its place is a modern typeface set against a purple and green backdrop.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/IMFtV5bqqw

— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) August 17, 2023

The Late Late’s Instagram feed has also scrubbed its profile of any reference to its former host, instead featuring a video and photo of Patrick Kielty.

However, no sponsor has come on-board as of yet.

Renault had been the show’s sponsor and it was a commercial agreement between Tubridy and the car manufacturer worth €75,000 per year that prompted the controversy into Tubridy’s pay.

At a Public Accounts Committee meeting in July, RTÉ’s interim deputy director-general Adrian Lynch apologised to Renault for being “dragged into this” and added that it is “it is outrageous in a way”.

In a statement to The Journal, an RTÉ spokesperson said “the Renault sponsorship had come to a natural end at the end of last season’s Late Late Show”.

They added that the RTÉ Media Sales sent the sponsorship opportunity to market last Friday and that there has “been keen interest in the marketplace and the process is now underway”.

There have been media reports that there is a deadline of this Friday to secure a new sponsor for the Late Late, but the RTÉ spokesperson told The Journal that they are not aware of any such deadline.

Renault had sponsored the Late Late for eight years and at a previous PAC hearing Kevin Bakhurst described Renault as a “significant advertiser of ours”.