WHEN Patrick Kielty ran the credits at the end of the final Late Late Show of the season in May, there were plenty of suggestions that not only would he never return, but the future of RTÉ’s most celebrated institution was in serious doubt.

The changing media landscape and the station’s financial woes dominated the discussions, but a number of commentators also raised Kielty’s position and highlighted the possibility that a departure would follow.

These were valid questions as his three-year contract was up, there was no confirmation that RTÉ was ready to renew it, and a list of alternative candidates was growing.

Two months went by without any clarification, until it was announced last week that Kielty would be back in September, with another three-year deal, to take what is famously the world’s second longest running television chat programme, after The Tonight Show on the US network NBC, past its 65th birthday.

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His initial appointment in May 2023 had been an open secret for many weeks, meaning that RTÉ had at least five months to prepare for the next phase of the Late Late, so the much tighter timetable on this occasion means it is reasonable to conclude that the........

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