Patrick Kielty

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Patrick Kielty
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Born (1971-01-31) 31 January 1971 (age 53)
Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland
Occupation Comedian,[1] television and radio presenter
Known for Patrick Kielty Almost Live
Live at the Apollo
This Morning
Spouse(s) Cat Deeley (m. 2012)
Children 1
Website http://www.patrickkielty.com

Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality from Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Background

Kielty was born in Downpatrick, Co Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the neighbouring village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessman John "Jack" Kielty, who was shot dead on 25 January 1988 by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), [2][3] a cover name used by loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). John Kielty was to have been a key witness in British Central Television's defence of a libel action brought by Jim Craig, who was suing the television company over a broadcast of The Cook Report which connected him to racketeering, and is said to have ordered John Kielty's murder.[4]

Career

Kielty began performing regularly while a pupil at St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick, which holds an annual holiday concert. Kielty was persuaded to take part by a Games master who spotted his impersonations of local politicians, celebrities, and sportsmen. His professional career started while he was still a psychology student at Queen's University of Belfast. He became well known locally for his edgy stand-up comedy routines at The Empire pub comedy nights, called "The Empire Laughs Back" started by him and fellow student Jackie Hamilton, who went on to become a BBC producer. One such routine, an early indication of his willingness to push boundaries, involved donning a balaclava and making spoof paramilitary pronouncements.[5] In the early 1990s, Kielty won the Guinness Entertainer of the Year in INF Warrenpoint, an event fronted by Sean Mallon.[who?][citation needed]

In 1993, Kielty presented the show SUS on UTV. He later became the warm-up act for a BBC Northern Ireland programme, Anderson on the Box, presented by local personality Gerry Anderson. When this show was axed, he presented its replacement, PK Tonight. Although this ran for only a year and was only shown in Northern Ireland, it did attract the attention of London-based broadcasters, winning him the "Best Newcomer" Award at the 1996 Royal Television Society Awards. In 1997 he set up the Belfast-based TV production company Green Inc with TV director Stephen Stewart, making shows such as The Afternoon Show, Patrick Kielty Almost Live, and Ask Rhod Gilbert. It was reported in 2010 that Kielty had sold his share in the company. Kielty graduated to presenting programmes such as Last Chance Lottery and Patrick Kielty Almost Live, broadcast throughout the UK. After making jokes about alcoholic former football star George Best’s drinking, the BBC received death threats against him which were later traced to a known terrorist location – Best was undergoing hospital treatment for alcoholism-induced liver failure at the time. Best later gave his first TV interview following his liver transplant to Kielty on the same show. During a stand-up comedy show in the same period Kielty was approached by men after including an anti-IRA routine in his act and threatened "You’re f***ing dead, mate"

He also presented a series of After The Break'. He did an impersonation of Martin McGuinness (who bears a slight resemblance to Art Garfunkel) singing the Simon and Garfunkel song, "Bridge over Troubled Water".[citation needed] Shortly afterwards Kielty was cautioned by Police in Dublin for illegal "after hours" drinking with his friend, former Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles. However, he continued to appear on national television, mostly light-entertainment shows such as the BBC's Fame Academy, Comic Relief Does Fame Academy and Love Island for ITV in both 2005 and 2006. On June 21, 2003 Kielty hosted the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics in Croke Park, Dublin, to a reported global audience of 800 million viewers. Other participants included Nelson Mandela, Mohammed Ali, and U2. Shortly after, following a charity event in Ireland Kielty shared a helicopter with astronaut Neil Armstrong to travel to Shannon Airport, during which the helicopter narrowly avoided crashing after flying into an electrical storm. In 2006, he hosted a segment on ITV's coverage of The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday LIVE alongside Kate Thornton. He hosted the original pilot series of the American version of Deal or No Deal for ABC in early 2004.[6] However, ABC decided against airing the series, which ended up on NBC, with Canadian comedian Howie Mandel as host.

In 2006, Kielty returned to the stand-up scene with a brand new UK tour. Jokes during the shows about Muslims, Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, and comparisons with the Troubles, caused controversy. A DVD, filmed at Belfast's Grand Opera House, was later released. In 2007, he began work at the Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End on the UK production of A Night in November, written by Northern Irish dramatist Marie Jones (Stones in His Pockets). He debuted in the play at the Grand Opera House in Belfast.

In March 2007, when presenting a live episode of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, Kielty referred to BBC Radio 1 disc jockey contestant Colin Murray as a "big gayer". Three complaints were made to Ofcom and the BBC as the comments were perceived by some as homophobic and offensive. The BBC responded saying that the line was unscripted and "spur of the moment" but that Kielty had been reminded "to be more careful during the remaining live shows". He later apologised on an episode of Have I Got News for You.

In 2007 he also guested on the BBC's third series of Live at the Apollo. On 18 May 2007, as part of the events surrounding the Northern Irish Peace Agreement, Kielty was invited to conduct a joint in-depth TV interview at 10 Downing Street in London with British prime minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn. He sparked controversy by apparently questioning the necessity of the Iraq War, comparing it with the negotiated peace accord just achieved in Northern Ireland, asking Blair “isn’t Iraq just the IRA with a Q at the end?”. He hosted the Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2 which started on 24 July 2010 and it ran for 10 weeks. Kielty presented Sport Relief in 2010 and 2012 alongside Fearne Cotton.

On 20 January 2010, while a guest on The One Show, Kielty revealed Christine Bleakley's mobile number to the camera, to prove that he had her number to celebrate their double birthday celebrations. Within five minutes of Kielty's mistake, Bleakley was bombarded with calls and text messages. She has since changed her number.

Kielty was the host of the first series of Channel 4's Stand Up for the Week, which began in June 2010 and ran for six weeks.[7]

In 2012, he co-presented This Morning, alongside Kate Thornton for one episode and Emma Willis for three episodes.[citation needed] In 2014 and 2015, Patrick guest hosted a few episodes of The One Show alongside Alex Jones.

In 2016 Kielty returned to BBC Northern Ireland to present programmes, he hosted the comedy panel game show Bad Language alongside Susan Calman and Paul Sinha. He then hosted television documentary Patrick Kielty's Mulholland Drive which focused on the life of William Mullholland and the California Water Wars. Keilty also reflected on his relatives' work in the Northern Irish water industry.[8] In March 2016 he began hosting a chat show for BBC NI called Delete, Delete, Delete looking at celebrities internet history.

In 2016, he will present Debatable, a new quiz show for BBC Two.

Radio

Kielty sat in for Alan Carr on his BBC Radio 2 show when he was on holiday. He has also sat in for Steve Wright and Simon Mayo on the station.

In January 2015, US Country star Garth Brooks gave his first UK interview to Kielty for a BBC Radio 2 special from Boston, Massachusetts.

Personal life

Kielty married television presenter Cat Deeley in a private ceremony in Rome on 30 September 2012.[9] On 19 January 2016, they announced the birth of their son.[10] Kielty is Catholic.[11]

Charity

In 2010, he took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.[citation needed]

He played for the 'Rest of World' team in Soccer Aid in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.

After co-presenting Sport Relief on two occasions in 2010 and 2012, Kielty worked for Comic Relief in March 2015 after the British boy band One Direction tweeted a short clip announcing who would be playing them in a 'No Direction' tribute for Red Nose Day. Kielty, who impersonated Niall Horan, directed the skit in which comedians Jack Dee played Louis Tomlinson, Nick Helm became Zayn Malik, Vic Reeves took on Harry Styles and Johnny Vegas transformed into Liam Payne.

Filmography

Television presenting
DVDs
  • Don't Shoot, I've Got a Bomb (1995)
  • Get Up, Stand Up (1998)
  • Patrick Kielty – Live (2006)
  • Patrick Kielty's Mulholland Drive (2016)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Murray, Raymond. The SAS in Ireland. Mercier Press, 1990. p. 397
  3. ↑ Sutton Index of Deaths: 25 January 1988, CAIN
  4. ↑ Wood, Ian S. Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA. Edinburgh University Press, 2006. p. 134
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley in Rome wedding from BBC, retrieved 9 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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