The Late Late Show (season 53)
The 53rd season of the Irish television programme, The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show,[1] began on 5 September 2014 and is expected to conclude in May 2015.[2] Ryan Tubridy's sixth season as host, it airs on RTÉ One each Friday evening from 21:30.
Local guests this season included Bosco, Bono and The Edge, Tánaiste Joan Burton, Alan Shatter (months after his resignation as minister for justice), Des O'Malley, Francis Brennan, Liz O'Donnell, Micheál Martin and Dustin the Turkey. A panel debate on Irish Water in October was followed by an interview with Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in February, after which Tubridy's style of questioning came in for much criticism. A trio of Gleesons (Brendan, Domhnall and Brian) were interviewed on the same night in December.
International guests interviewed this season included Eva Longoria, Alan Rickman, Dominic West, Ryan O'Neal, Russell Crowe and Richard E. Grant (the latter alongside Gabriel Byrne). English actors Michael Palin and John Cleese, both of the comedy troupe Monty Python, were interviewed over consecutive episodes in December.
The season closed with a dance special and a tribute by Giles, Brady and Dunphy to Bill O'Herlihy after his death earlier that week.
Sponsorship
Sky Broadband sponsored the show for a second year.[3][4]
Declining audience ratings
Audience ratings declined considerably (at one point even The Saturday Night Show attracted more viewers).[5]
Sinéad O'Connor
The singer used her appearance this season (21 November edition) to call for non-violent revolution. She did so from Tubridy's chair, having convinced him to swap places with her.[6][7]
Paul Murphy interview
On 20 February 2015, Tubridy interviewed Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in relation to the campaign against the implementation of a water tax.[8] The interview proved frustrating, with many expressing annoyance at the tone and some of the questions asked.[9] Opponents of the water tax praised Murphy on social media for what was said to have been his restraint during the interview.[10] Much commentary was critical of Tubridy.[10] Murphy himself described his encounter with Tubridy as “an exercise in badgering and trying to make me responsible for things that are nothing to do with me”, a reference to Tubridy's attempts to link him to a protests against President Michael D. Higgins which he said he had nothing to do with.[11] Julien Mercille, the academic and writer of The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland, observed that "Tubridy was pretty good from the standpoint of protecting government interests. [...] He asked all the right questions to try to discredit the water charges protests and Paul Murphy".[12]
Special editions
The Late Late Toy Show took place on 28 November.[13]
A Valentine's Day edition aired on 13 February 2015 attracted an extraordinary number of complaints.[14][15] One of the show's guests, Ronan O'Gara, even talked about "getting up on Jessica"; Tubridy covered his mouth in shock upon hearing this vulgarity.[16] O'Gara later admitted he had drunk two coffees and nothing else before the interview.[17]
Eurosong took place on 27 February 2015.[18]
The final episode of the season was a charity dancing special.[19][20] It did, however, manage to work in a tribute by Giles, Brady and Dunphy to Bill O'Herlihy after his death earlier that week (others like George Hamilton and Après Match's Risteárd Cooper were spoken to as members of the audience).[21][22][23]
List of episodes
- September
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2014 | Maria Walsh (2014 Rose of Tralee); Baz and Nancy Ashmawy; Joan Burton; Paul McGinley | Interskalactic; Collabro; Trad for Trócaire | Details | |
| 12 September 2014 | The Script; Kevin McCloud; cast of Fair City; Michelle Mone | The Script; James Blunt; The Vamps | Details | |
| 19 September 2014 | Tom Vaughan-Lawlor; Sharon Corr; Katie Hopkins; Michael Harding | Sharon Corr; Connor McKeon; Paul Carrack; Mario Rosenstock impersonations | Details | |
| 26 September 2014 | Kelly McDonagh Mongan and family; Kellie Maloney; Margo; Alan Shatter; Norah Casey | Margo; Wallis Bird; Royal Wood | Details |
- October
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 October 2014 | Ed Sheeran; Maisie Williams; Francis Brennan; Ivan Yates; John and Diane Foley; Cathy Kelly | Ed Sheeran; Delorentos; Phil Coulter with Geraldine Brannigan and Paul Byrom | Details | |
| 10 October 2014 | Majella O'Donnell; Noel Edmonds; Neven Maguire; Eamon Dunphy; Kathleen Chada | The Riptide Movement; Johnny McEvoy | Details | |
| 17 October 2014 | Emily Ratajkowski; Gay Byrne; Boris Becker | Mary Black; Adam Cohen; Paul Potts | Details | |
| 24 October 2014 | Bono and The Edge; Kevin Bridges; Walter O'Brien; Des O'Malley | Bono and The Edge; The High Hopes Choir | Details | |
| 31 October 2014 | Brian O'Driscoll; Dominic West; Louise McSharry; panel debate on Irish Water | Music from Grease; Brendan McCahey; The Strypes | Details |
- November
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 November 2014 | Eva Longoria; Graham Norton; Dermot O'Leary; Paul Galvin; Paul Williams | Madness; Paddy Casey; The Craze | Details | ||
| The Longoria interview was recorded in advance on 4 November | |||||
| 14 November 2014 | Saoirse Ronan; Aisling Franciosi and Bronagh Waugh; Anthony Daly; Joe Duffy; John Joe Nevin; Brendan Grace | HomeTown; Printer Clips; The High Kings; Brendan Shine (recorded at Eason Dublin on 13 November for Dermot O'Leary) | Details | ||
| 21 November 2014 | Sinéad O'Connor; Stephanie Roche; Aoibhinn McGinnity; Alexa Chung; Dara Ó Briain | The Coronas | Details | ||
| 28 November 2014 | Various children; Ed Sheeran; Danny O'Donoghue | Do please fill out accordingly | Details | ||
| The Late Late Toy Show | |||||
- December
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 December 2014 | Brendan O'Carroll and Jennifer Gibney; Michael Palin; Olly Murs; Fr Ray Kelly | Olly Murs; Zog Chorus including Zig and Zag, Bosco and Dustin The Turkey performance of "We All Stand Together"[24] | Details | |
| 12 December 2014 | Brendan, Domhnall and Brian Gleeson; Keith Duffy; Imelda May; John Cleese; Tommy Tiernan | Imelda May; Spandau Ballet; Damien Rice | Details | |
| 19 December 2014 | Take That; Rachel Stevens; Una Foden; Hozier; Aidan Gillen; Colin Teevan; Pat Shortt; Robbie and Claudia Keane | Take That; Hozier; Nathan Carter | Details |
- January
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 January 2015 | Michael O'Leary; Pamela Uddin and Roisin Hogan (from The Apprentice); Ian O'Sullivan and Eimear Murphy (2015 BT Young Scientist winners); Nicky Byrne; Deepak Chopra; Andy Lee | Celtic Woman; Finbar Furey; Kormac | Details | ||
| First episode using the new Late Late set[25][26] | |||||
| 16 January 2015 | Stephanie Roche; Bernard Brogan; Pádraig Harrington; Claire Byrne; Michael Healy-Rae; discussion on farming accidents | Bay City Rollers; Hudson Taylor | Details | ||
| 23 January 2015 | Mikey North and Ian Puleston-Davies; Hazel Behan; Olive Loughnane; Evanne Ní Chuilinn | Do please fill out accordingly | Details | ||
| 30 January 2015 | Donncha O'Callaghan; Simon Brook; Conor Pope; Tomi Reichental; Lisa Madden; Liz O'Donnell; Bernard O'Shea | Mike Denver; Curtis Stigers; Orla Gartland | Details | ||
- February
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 February 2015 | Nick Munier, John Walsh from Shebeen on Wheels, Vogue Williams, Kodaline, Maia Dunphy, Siobhan O'Connor, Moe Dunford and Terry McMahon, Father Pierre 'Jalapeno' Pepper | Kodaline; cast of Jesus Christ Superstar; Lisa Lambe | Details | ||
| 13 February 2015 | Louis Walsh; Katie Hopkins; Ronan O'Gara; Angela Bermudo | James Bay, Altan; Dickie Rock | Details | ||
| Valentine's Day special[14][15] | |||||
| 20 February 2015 | Marco Pierre White; Paul Murphy; Chris de Burgh; Linda Boland and Elayne Crowley | The Shires and Dónal Lunny; Máirtín O'Connor and Zoë Conway | Details | ||
| 27 February 2015 | Phil Coulter, Mairead Farrell, Panti Bliss and Linda Martin | Phil Coulter and Niamh Kavanagh (performance of Coulter's song "Congratulations") | Details | ||
| Eurosong 2015 (Marty Whelan also featured and presented from backstage)[27][28] | |||||
- March
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2015 | Mary Berry; Noel Fitzpatrick; Pádraig Harrington; Piers Morgan; Pete and Katie Taylor | The Overtones | Details | ||
| 13 March 2015 | Ibrahim Halawa's sisters; Alan Shatter; Judy Murray; Heather Mills; Lucinda Creighton and Eddie Hobbs; John Duddy; Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney | The Kilfenora Céilí Band; Rebecca Ferguson | Details | ||
| 20 March 2015 | Maria Walsh (Rose of Tralee) and Adi Roche; PJ Gallagher and Joanne McNally; Russell Crowe; Ryan O'Neal; the McMullan Brothers | Jersey Boys; Jon Allen; Professor Günther Gruhn (Irish Pictorial Weekly) | Details | ||
| Russell Crowe also performed with the house band | |||||
| 27 March 2015 | Barry Cummins and Dearbhail McDonald; Louis Walsh; Kim Catrall; Calum Best; Alan Rickman | HomeTown; Brendan Shine; Texas | Details | ||
- April
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 April 2015 | Liam Cunningham; Nadia Forde; Paul Brady; June Rodgers; Nathan Kelly (described as some sort of "UFC fanatic"); Tina Malone | Paul Brady | Details | |
| 10 April 2015 | Jack Reynor and Gerard Barrett; Keith Barry; Lucy O'Byrne; the Murphy family (organ donation) | Albert Hammond; Frances Black and Kieran Goss | Details | |
| 17 April 2015 | Michael Lyster; Stacey Solomon; Kerry Condon; Leigh Arnold; Micheál Martin | Charley Pride; I, Keano | Details | |
| 24 April 2015 | Killian Scott and Peter Coonan; Holly Carpenter; Gabriel Byrne and Richard E. Grant; Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke; Christine Bleakley | Mamma Mia; The Academic | Details |
- May
| No. | Original air date | Interviews | Performances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 2015 | Jennifer Maguire and Darren Kennedy; Richard Corrigan; Charlotte Crosby (Geordie Shore); Marriage Referendum debate (Una Mullally and Colm O'Gorman vs. Keith Mills and Petra Conroy) | The Three Degrees; Top Hat; Ham Sandwich | Details | |
| 8 May 2015 | Jason Byrne; Alexandra Burke; Molly Sterling; Pat Spillane | Don McLean | Details | |
| 15 May 2015 | Jim Sheridan; Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O'Brien (Fair City); Amanda Byram; Risteárd Cooper | Once the Musical, Dublin; Róisín O | Details | |
| 22 May 2015 | RTÉ Washington correspondent Caitriona Perry; Ricky Hatton; Oliver Callan | Nathan Carter; RTÉ Concert Orchestra | Details | |
| 29 May 2015 | Giles, Brady and Dunphy pay tribute to Bill O'Herlihy | Dancing, dancing and still more dancing | Details |
References
- ↑ "Dima performs at The Late Late Show". Eurovision. 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- "Paisley on RTE's Late Late Show". BBC News. 24 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- "Late Late show getting new face". BBC News. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- "Kenny's final viewer figures released". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ↑ "Ryan Tubridy will return with Paul McGinley, Rose of Tralee winner Maria Walsh and Baz Ashmaway for Late Late line-up". Irish Independent. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ↑ "Sky Broadband Officially Named New 'Late Late Show' Sponsor". Irish Film and Television Network. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ↑ "Sky's €1m deal to sponsor Tubs' Late Late Show". The Herald. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ↑ "More tuned into Saturday Night Show than Late Late last weekend – but they're "not in competition"". TheJournal.ie. 10 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ↑ "Here is Sinead O'Connor's call for non-violent revolution on the Late Late Show: She called for "the creation of a second Republic of Ireland". Daily Edge. 22 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Sinead O'Connor swaps seats with Ryan on tonight's Late Late Show". BreakingNews.ie. 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ↑ "The Paul Murphy Takedown (contains transcript of interview)". 22 February 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ↑ Hynes, Robert (21 February 2015). "Twitter users angered by Ryan Tubridy's interview with Anti Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy". Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- 1 2 O'Brien, Tim (21 February 2015). "Socialist TD responds to Late Late Show 'badgering': Paul Murphy says Ryan Tubridy interview was designed to link him to abusive remarks". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ↑ "Paul Murphy describes Tubridy interview as 'exercise in badgering'". TheJournal.ie. 22 February 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ↑ Mercille, Julien (23 February 2015). "Just Doing His Job". Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "Looking for Toy Show tickets? The deadline is today". TheJournal.ie. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Some people weren't too pleased with the antics on The Late Late Show". The Journal. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Ninety complaints over risque, 'car crash' Valentines Late Late - RTE". Irish Independent. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ↑ "Ronan O'Gara has apologised for THAT cheeky quip on the Late Late Show". Daily Edge. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ↑ McGowan, Sharon (28 February 2015). "'I only had coffee' before Late Late, says O'Gara". Evening Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ↑ "Listen to this year's Eurosong 2015 hopefuls". RTÉ. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ↑ "George Hook went on the Late Late and danced like a gangster". TheJournal.ie. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ "Video: That George Hook Dance Routine From The Late Late Show". Balls.ie. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ ""He had a genius for living" – The Late Late tribute sparked a lot of love for Billo tonight". TheJournal.ie. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ "Video: Eamon Dunphy's Tearful And Eloquent Tribute To Bill O'Herlihy On The Late Late". Balls.ie. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ "The Late Late Show piad a very special tribute to Bill O'Herlihy tonight". Joe.ie. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ "Bosco returns on Late Late with charity single". Irish Examiner. 6 December 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ "New Late Late Show set divides nation". Irish Examiner. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "Here's a peek at the brand new Late Late Show set". Daily Edge. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "Molly Sterling to represent Ireland in Eurovision". RTÉ. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Eurosong on the Late Late Show review -'as ridiculous as always, run to the same format as always…it was two hours of rambling, absurd, vaguely shambolic fun'". Irish Independent. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.