# Is Pat Kenny about to go as host of Late Late Show?



## ninsaga (22 Aug 2008)

Well, now's yer chance to nominate a new host to the Late Late.....

[broken link removed]


----------



## Teabag (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Surely it has to be Bertie.


----------



## LDFerguson (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Teabag said:


> Surely it has to be Bertie.


 
Nooooooo...saw Bertie on some sporting discussion show while flicking channels last night.  He looked incredibly uncomfortable - sat on the chair with all the ease of a man announcing to parents that he's got their beloved daughter pregnant and wants to marry her as soon as his jail term is finished.


----------



## Sunny (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



LDFerguson said:


> Nooooooo...saw Bertie on some sporting discussion show while flicking channels last night. He looked incredibly uncomfortable - sat on the chair with all the ease of a man announcing to parents that he's got their beloved daughter pregnant and wants to marry her as soon as his jail term is finished.


 
He was a bit wooden alright but I thought he did ok. At least he can say he is an amateur. What's Kenny's excuse?

I would like to see a comedian host it. Turn it into something like Jonathan Ross. Dara O Briain would be good. No-one else from that God awful show 'the panel' though.....


----------



## Pique318 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Sunny said:


> He was a bit wooden alright but I thought he did ok. At least he can say he is an amateur. What's Kenny's excuse?
> 
> I would like to see a comedian host it. Turn it into something like Jonathan Ross. Dara O Briain would be good. No-one else from that God awful show 'the panel' though.....



Dara O'Briain would be excellent. He's highly intelligent and therefore able to converse on the political and social topics of the day whilst also being a very funny man and therefore making the fluff guests feel at home.

Dara for the Late Late !!!


----------



## Caveat (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

I think he would be great - but of course there's more of a chance of Willy O'Dea presenting than Dara O'Briain.


----------



## Pique318 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

True...the RTE favourites will no doubt be lined up...Ryan, Duffy...maybe even Tubridy. How the 3 of them have a career in the public eye is amazing....you wouldn't get tired of beating them !

We need more than someone to play devils advocate (or is it Advocaat ?).


----------



## efm (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Dara O' Briain would be an inspired choice! - he could say the Angelus and still be funny!

So, obviously it won't be him - RTE will give it to ........Pat Kenny


----------



## cole (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

I'll give 10/1 that the plank will be there in Sept as usual. They always play this up to the wire in the pay negotiations.


----------



## TarfHead (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Of course it will be Pat Kenny. Do you think RTE have an alternative in their back pocket to deploy at such short notice if they lose Kenny ?

This is the organisation, after all, that came up with the brilliantly left-field idea to replace Joe O'Shea with Sile Seoige  ! Can you imagine the meeting where this was proposed and decided ? I'm sure they all thought they were great buachailli & cailini to have made such a radical and dangerous choice.

As for Dara O'Briain or anyone else taking over to become a weaker version of Jonathan Ross ? Forget it ! There aren't enough _cojones_ in Donnybrook to contemplate such a decision. Anyone else remember _Good Grief Moncrieff_ ? 

The Late Late should have something for everyone. Moving away for the current format would alientate even more people than Pat 'Alan Partridge' Kenny already does.


----------



## Staples (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



TarfHead said:


> Anyone else remember _Good Grief Moncrieff_ ?


 
I remember someone saying at the time that if only his name was "Moncrollocks", there could have been a much more accurate show title.


----------



## gipimann (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Maybe it's time to let the women take over - Miriam O Callaghan, anyone?

Or.....

Now that Tom Dunne has moved to the morning show on Newstalk, Ray D'arcy might have some competition and fancy a change?!


----------



## z106 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



gipimann said:


> Now that Tom Dunne has moved to the morning show on Newstalk, Ray D'arcy might have some competition and fancy a change?!


 
Not ray d'arcy.

He's way too full of himself as it is.


----------



## Pique318 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

I think Miriam is more suited to political analysis. Her demeanour on her last effort at a chat show was embarrassing. Too much of the 'roish' accent is offputting to 90% of Irish people anyway and tbh, I couldn't listen to her for too long.

I'd safely say that there are more talented people in Newspaper and Radio stations around the country would would do a fine job on a prime-time chat show slot than the bunch of overpaid primadonnas in RTE.


----------



## z106 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Pique318 said:


> I think Miriam is more suited to political analysis. Her demeanour on her last effort at a chat show was embarassing.


 
Ya - I agree. She is very good on primetime.
Not so good in light entertainment.

How about Marian finucane?


----------



## Caveat (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

I think Marian is probably capable and is likeable but I can't see her fronting a show like this.


----------



## csirl (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

No chance of Kenny not returning. He'll have to compromise on the salary demands because he needs the job. The recent land dispute with his neighbour where he agreed to purchase the land has left a very big hole in his finances.


----------



## Ash 22 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

I don't have a problem with Pat Kenny. Does'nt it all boil down to the guests on the night and peoples personal choices. If for example you have a lot of sporting guests on a show, that will interest a whole lot of people then the people who have no interest in sport are going to find it quite boring.  If you have Daniel O'Donnell on for an hour that well go down great with some and not with others.


----------



## ninsaga (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Ash 22 said:


> I don't have a problem with Pat Kenny. Does'nt it all boil down to the guests on the night and peoples personal choices.



.............eeehhh no!

and jeez, did someone mention Gerry Ryan..... now that would be a hell of alot worse!


----------



## Welfarite (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

How about scrapping it altogether?


----------



## truthseeker (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Ash 22 said:


> I don't have a problem with Pat Kenny. Does'nt it all boil down to the guests on the night and peoples personal choices.


 
And knowing RTEs penchant for incestuous guesting even if Pat Kenny isnt presenting no doubt he will be a guest at some point anyway.


----------



## fobs (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Think Pat is Ok on the factual or political discussion but is useless when he has to interview a comedian or singer. Sounds like he doesn't give a damn about the guest (probably doesn't) and just sticks to a list of pre-arranged questions and doesn't let the conversation flow (like Parkinson did). doesn't deserve the salary he gets for the viewing figures it generates.


----------



## Mel (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



Ash 22 said:


> I don't have a problem with Pat Kenny. Does'nt it all boil down to the guests on the night and peoples personal choices. If for example you have a lot of sporting guests on a show, that will interest a whole lot of people then the people who have no interest in sport are going to find it quite boring. If you have Daniel O'Donnell on for an hour that well go down great with some and not with others.


 
It doesn't for me. No matter who the guest is, Pat Kenny will ruin it. There were threads on this before, he's just not a good interviewer. (ETA: Fobbs beat me to it - my opinion is the same)


----------



## z106 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



fobs said:


> Think Pat is Ok on the factual or political discussion but is useless when he has to interview a comedian or singer. Sounds like he doesn't give a damn about the guest (probably doesn't) and just sticks to a list of pre-arranged questions and doesn't let the conversation flow (like Parkinson did). doesn't deserve the salary he gets for the viewing figures it generates.


 
That guy Parkinson just wrecked my head.

Well - not so much the guy himself (although he was a large part of it) - but the whole vibe from the show used annoy me.

Gaybo was the best of the lot unquestionably.


----------



## Caveat (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



qwertyuiop said:


> Gaybo was the best of the lot unquestionably.


 
He was very smooth & the consummate professional alright but personally, I couldn't stand him.  

I thought he was smug, egotistical, patronising and simply annoying on many occasions. 

I know what you mean about Parky, but I'd take his gentlemanly "folksiness" over Gaybo anytime thanks.


----------



## z106 (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*

Do ye remember the time a few months ago when Chris De Burgh came on the late late and sang a song.
And at the end of the song pat approached him and next thing de burgh started going on about how pat gets a lot of bad press and he is actually a really good guy.

I gotta say - I felt sorry for pat then.
He was clearly - and not surprisingly - completely embarrassed.

Like - why would de burgh start bringing up bad stuff like that about pat on live tv?

That de burgh fella is clearly some clown.


----------



## Sue Ellen (22 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



qwertyuiop said:


> Like - why would de burgh start bringing up bad stuff like that about pat on live tv?
> 
> That de burgh fella is clearly some clown.



Worse again is listening to his daughter wondering if she and her father were married to each other in a previous life


----------



## ninsaga (23 Aug 2008)

WOuld like to se Gaybo back. This mornings examiner has released the results so far - showing [broken link removed]!


----------



## z106 (23 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



sueellen said:


> Worse again is listening to his daughter wondering if she and her father were married to each other in a previous life


 
I missed that one.

What was that about?


----------



## rabbit (23 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



qwertyuiop said:


> I gotta say - I felt sorry for pat then.


 I would never feel sorry for Pat Kenny - look at all the licence payers money he gets. While Kenny is away half the time on fancy holidays he does not feel sorry for you or me.


----------



## ninsaga (23 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



rabbit said:


> I would never feel sorry for Pat Kenny - look at all the licence payers money he gets. While Kenny is away half the time on fancy holidays he does not feel sorry for you or me.



Gotta question RTE on that one - i was not as though they needed Kenny to make the show a success - he was afterall riding on Gaybo's coat tails. There wee plenty others who could make that a success without earning whopping money. Hopefully the same clown who decided on Pat Kenny has left RTE - else Gerry Ryan could be selected! Perish the thought!


----------



## Pique318 (25 Aug 2008)

ninsaga said:


> WOuld like to se Gaybo back. This mornings examiner has released the results so far - showing [broken link removed]!




Not a biased paper at all then  Bill O'Herlihy is a bigger plank than Kenny. He's been rubbish at the football coverage since he started and is only there as a referee between the 3 stooges across from him.


----------



## elefantfresh (25 Aug 2008)

How about doing a rotating presenting role - some show on BBC did that - never mind the buzzcocks or something, i cant remember. Good idea though?


----------



## Jock04 (25 Aug 2008)

elefantfresh said:


> How about doing a rotating presenting role - some show on BBC did that - never mind the buzzcocks or something, i cant remember. Good idea though?


 
Buzzcocks did briefly, I think. But Have I got News for You has been doing it a good while  (since Angus Deayton got caught by the tabloids)

For a chat show, you could see the posible benefits of tailoring the presenter to suit the guests.....but you could see that going awry too!


----------



## Purple (26 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



rabbit said:


> I would never feel sorry for Pat Kenny - look at all the licence payers money he gets. While Kenny is away half the time on fancy holidays he does not feel sorry for you or me.



That sounds very begrudging. If he is good at presenting the show and generates the viewers (and therefore the revenue) then he deserves what he gets paid. I think he is excellent at current affairs but useless at interviewing the lighter guests who are doing the circuit to plug their latest film/ album.

Then again I rarely watch the Late Late as the guests are rubbish.

(posted in the right place this time!)


----------



## FredBloggs (27 Aug 2008)

*Re: Is the Plank about to go?*



truthseeker said:


> And knowing RTEs penchant for incestuous guesting even if Pat Kenny isnt presenting no doubt he will be a guest at some point anyway.


 
Yep - probably he'd be the main guest on the first show explaining why he isn't doing it anymore.

What RTE should do is get the guy from Apres Match who impersonates him to do the show.  He's bound to be cheaper!


----------



## MrMan (27 Aug 2008)

Pique318 said:


> Not a biased paper at all then  Bill O'Herlihy is a bigger plank than Kenny. He's been rubbish at the football coverage since he started and is only there as a referee between the 3 stooges across from him.



Bill adds to the whole programme, he definitley has improved his football knowledge, but he realises who the stars of the show are and provides the perfect foil for them.


----------



## Purple (27 Aug 2008)

MrMan said:


> Bill adds to the whole programme, he definitley has improved his football knowledge, but he realises who the stars of the show are and provides the perfect foil for them.


Yes but he would be worse than useless as the host of a chat show.

I think our own Dr. Moriarty  should take over.


----------



## The_Banker (27 Aug 2008)

The Late Late Show should have ended when Gay Byrne retired. He owned the show for so long, no matter who came in after him it wasn't going to work.


----------



## oopsbuddy (27 Aug 2008)

The_Banker said:


> The Late Late Show should have ended when Gay Byrne retired. He owned the show for so long, no matter who came in after him it wasn't going to work.



It was barely working anymore when Gaybo called it a day, but Pat knows that the lack of imagination at RTE will try to keep it going "at all costs", and that keeps him well paid, courtesy of a large part of our licence fee. And it doesn't work at all now. End it now....please!


----------



## Betsy Og (27 Aug 2008)

In defence of Bill.

Bill's role is to play the foil for the lads. Any time I've seen him interviewed he has the affability and warmth to keep things going so I think he would be good.

After all its not rocket science, Parky had the same warm personality and the shows worked well, Pat is too tense to get things flowing and have a bit of craic with the guest.


----------



## Ceist Beag (27 Aug 2008)

Yeah I think Bill would be quite good at this. Watching him on the Olympics he got the best out of the panel - like stirring things up between Gary O'Toole and Eamon Coughlan about who is better Bolt or Phelps - all the time sitting back with a grin!! He seems to know how to get people talking while at the same time being able to control the flow so that they don't go too far off topic.


----------



## Teabag (29 Aug 2008)

You know, I think Pat Kenny is alright as Late Late Show host but he has one major flaw. His main role is to ask questions and keep the conversation going and he can do that ok as far as I am concerned.
BUT its the types of questions he asks that bother me...He is a tabloid interviewer !
What I mean is that he always wants to ask about the personal lives of the guests no matter what their background is, he wants to dig up the dirty private life of all his contestants and spends too much of the interview talking about stuff that most people dont care about unless they are ghouls or Big Brother fans or oul biddys.
For example, if he had a guy on that had climbed Everest, skiied to the South Pole and swam the English Channel all in one month, he would ask one question about his remarkable achievement and then 10 about his "messy divorce in 1987"....e.g. so did your marital breakup in 1987 contribute anything to your quest ?? etc etc
I think Pat thinks that making his interviews sensational, he will get more ratings. Maybe for some but most people want to hear about the primary thing that makes the guest famous than their private lives.
I have seen him bring on bubbly comedians who were up for a laugh but sent them off at the end deflated and thinking about their terrible childhood....
Maybe the person that writes his Questions is at fault, I am not sure.


----------



## rabbit (29 Aug 2008)

Teabag said:


> Maybe the person that writes his Questions is at fault, I am not sure.


 
you would think the auld Pat who is so overpaid and underworked could think up his own questions.


----------



## Teabag (29 Aug 2008)

rabbit said:


> you would think the auld Pat who is so overpaid and underworked could think up his own questions.



Yeah maybe that is the problem.


----------



## MOB (2 Sep 2008)

I think that many of the sums paid to the top RTE personalities are quite indefensible.   As I understand it (and I must admit I have not looked into it in any great detail), a lot of them are on contracts for services (routed through their own companies) rather than hired as salaried employees.   This means that RTE can invest in a show, invest in making someone a high profile 'star' and then that person can go out and exploit this investment of public money for his\her own private gain.   

I suspect that the argument that 'we have to pay these rates or these people would go elsewhere' is hogwash, or at best greatly overstated;   At a minimum, RTE should put this theory to the test by shedding (i.e. not renewing contract with), say, one in every 15 of these people each year.  If after, say, Five years of this, it became obvious that the people who left were indeed going on to even more lucrative careers elsewhere and to the detriment of RTE, then I would certainly re-evaluate (and eat a large slice of humble pie).  But the present policy is craven and in my opinion gives bad value to the taxpayer.


----------



## Purple (2 Sep 2008)

MOB said:


> I think that many of the sums paid to the top RTE personalities are quite indefensible.   As I understand it (and I must admit I have not looked into it in any great detail), a lot of them are on contracts for services (routed through their own companies) rather than hired as salaried employees.   This means that RTE can invest in a show, invest in making someone a high profile 'star' and then that person can go out and exploit this investment of public money for his\her own private gain.
> 
> I suspect that the argument that 'we have to pay these rates or these people would go elsewhere' is hogwash, or at best greatly overstated;   At a minimum, RTE should put this theory to the test by shedding (i.e. not renewing contract with), say, one in every 15 of these people each year.  If after, say, Five years of this, it became obvious that the people who left were indeed going on to even more lucrative careers elsewhere and to the detriment of RTE, then I would certainly re-evaluate (and eat a large slice of humble pie).  But the present policy is craven and in my opinion gives bad value to the taxpayer.



Well said


----------



## FredBloggs (2 Sep 2008)

Purple said:


> Well said


 
ditto


If Pat Kenny (and he's just a n example - I've nothing against him) was told they weren't going to meet his demands what would he do?


----------



## Brianne (2 Sep 2008)

Excellent point, MOB. Who exactly is looking for Pat Kenny. It amazes me the salary that he and many others enjoy. When they go on holiday,does the whole station close down? I though Miles Duncan did a better job than him this summer. If there was an ounce of bravery in RTE management, they would slash their salaries wholesale and tell them to get on with it. It's a big presumption that there is no one out there that couldn't do his job. But then again , RTE is using our money ,and fails in my opinion , in its public broadcast remit. STOP, end of rant!!


----------



## Towger (3 Sep 2008)

I here that Biffo is going to make an appearance on the Late Late. My blood boils at the thought of my €160 being paid to the Plank to read Biffo a list of questions, all preapproved by PR Consultants, FF Advisers and Civil Servants at tax payers expense.  Oh well, maybe the Plank will get him to stand up and sing us a song for his supper.


----------

