Patrick Kielty

Patrick Kielty
Born	(1971-01-31) 31 January 1971 Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland
Occupation(s)	Comedian, Presenter
Known for	Patrick Kielty Almost Live Live at the Apollo This Morning Summer
Spouse	Cat Deeley (m. 2012)

Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) 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 (UFF) volunteer on 25 January 1988. The UFF was a cover name used by loyalist 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.

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 (who bears a slight resemblance to Art Garfunkel) 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 (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".[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. They announced on 4 September 2015 that they are expecting their first child in spring 2016.The couple had met 10 years earlier while co-presenting several seasons of the TV series Fame Academy. Though constantly linked in the media at the time of Fame Academy in 2005, both insist they only became romantically involved a year prior to the marriage. Deeley is the presenter of the US Reality show “So You Think You Can Dance?”. The couple have homes in London, Northern Ireland, and Los Angeles. Kielty loves fast cars, and once owned a rare stainless steel left-hand-drive 1981 De Lorean sports car with gull-winged doors. He has the unenviable distinction of recording the fastest-ever speeding offence in Northern Ireland at 132 mph. He also narrowly avoided being shot when he crashed at high speed into an Army checkpoint in the Province when the soldiers forgot to set out the regulation warning signposts.

Select filmography

• Don't Shoot, I've Got a Bomb, 1995
• Get Up, Stand Up, 1998
• Patrick Kielty – Live, 2006

External links

• Patrick Kielty Official Page
• Patrick Kielty at MySpace
• Patrick Kielty at IMDb
• http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/292571/a-child-of-the-troubles-with-a-smile-on-his-face.thtml
• Unreality TV – Patrick Kielty on Celebrity Love Island News, Gossip and Chat