Patrick Kielty is an 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 by an Ulster Freedom Fighters
volunteer on 25 January 1988. The UFF was a cover name used by loyalist group
the Ulster Defence Association. 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. 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 a 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. In the early 1990s,
Kielty won the Guinness Entertainer of the Year in INF Warrenpoint, an event
fronted by Sean Mallon. 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 singing the Simon and
Garfunkel song, "Bridge over Troubled Water". Shortly afterwards Kielty was
cautioned by Police in Dublin for illegal “after hours” drinking with his
friend, former Radio One 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.
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. 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". [10] 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 would later apologise on Have I Got News for You. In 2007 he also
guested on the BBC's third series of Live at the Apollo. He sat in for Alan
Carr on his BBC Radio 2 show when Alan was on holidays. He has also sat in for
Steve Wright and Simon Mayo on the station. 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. 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. 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. [12] 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. He played for the rest of world side in series 4 of Soccer
Aid, substituting at half time for Edwin van der Sar. In 2012, he co-presented
This Morning, alongside Kate Thornton for one episode and Emma Willis for
three episodes. In 2014 and 2015, Patrick guest hosted a few episodes of
The One Show alongside Alex Jones. In January 2015 US Country Star Garth
Brooks gave his first UK interview to Kielty for a BBC Radio Two Special from
Boston, Massachusetts. Kielty worked again 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 himself into Liam Payne.
Personal life Kielty married television presenter Cat
Deeley in a private ceremony in Rome on 30 September 2012. Kielty is Catholic.
Their first baby is due in Spring 2016. Select filmography
Don't Shoot, I've Got a Bomb, 1995 Get Up, Stand Up, 1998
Patrick Kielty – Live, 2006 References
External links Patrick Kielty Official Website
Patrick Kielty Official Instagram Patrick Kielty at MySpace
Patrick Kielty at the Internet Movie Database
-troubles-with-a-smile-on-his-face.thtml Unreality TV – Patrick Kielty on
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