Five talking points from the Late Late Show, from Mayfield to Saipan
Katherine Ryan, Christina Hendricks and Chris O'Dowd joined Patrick Kielty on Valentine's Day
Just how did Mad Men star Christina Hendricks end up starring in a tv series set in south Fermanagh/north Leitrim? Well, it was kismet.
Our own Chris O’Dowd revealed that while Hendricks was on his list of possible actresses for the role in his new show Small Town, Big Story, he never thought they would be able to land her.
But fate – and some fashion influencer vibes – took the wheel when Hendricks was approached by a clothing company about a potential collaboration.
Hesitant to decide until she had vetted the products, the US star did her research and found one Dawn O’Porter had worked with the brand. She also happens to be married to one Chris O’Dowd.
Cut to: the pair in O’Porter’s kitchen bonding over fashion and being fabulous. Suddenly, the big man from Boyle had his in.
Thankfully, what O’Dowd – who created and wrote the Sky Atlantic series – calls “kismet” means we get to enjoy Hendricks alongside Joe Dolan and aliens…
Yes, aliens. And we are not just talking sci-fi because the Good Girls star told Patrick Kielty that while she and her husband. George Bianchini, were living here during filming her husband saw a UFO.
You may scoff, and O’Dowd may point out that it sounded a lot like the Poolbeg Chimneys but Hendricks is standing by her man. He saw what he saw.
Refreshingly, Hendricks is not one of those Americans who claims Irish heritage just because, and with her trademark red hair (which is, in fact, dyed) she could get away with it.
But she does love our country and proved it by spending her first wedding anniversary and Valentine’s Day appearing on an Irish institution.
It shouldn’t be a surprise really as not even a Bad Sisters-inspired near-death experience at the 40 foot could keep her away from our fair isle.
Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan recalled trips to Cork throughout her childhood to visit her father’s hometown.
These annual trips made her and her siblings seem “exotic” to their peers and Ryan seems to have relished in bringing back some European goods.
This continent had so much to offer in terms of culture but apparently the Now That’s What I Call Music compilation albums – particularly I’m Horny by Mousse T – were what stuck out the most.
Ryan, now a mother of three, still visits Cork on the reg and has christened her children there in her father’s local church.
“There’s nothing worse that you can do to your Cork dad than move to England and have children,” she quipped, the Irish christening being the appeasement for her father.
Her youngest daughter, Fenna Grace, didn’t love the idea and tried to flee the church.
For the night that was in it, Ryan offered her best romantic advice which she has tried and tested herself: go for a man who has been divorced.
“A divorced man has been humbled. He’s already ridden the rollercoaster of being passionately in love to standing in the ashes of that failed relationship with nothing but his golf clubs and a car loan.”
Speaking about her reality show with her family, At Home with the Ryans, the comedian and actress likened it to the Kardashians: “I exploit my children for monetary gain”.
In a moment that may resonate with many parents, Ryan said that living with a teenage daughter was like “Mussolini with a Stanley cup, she’s got a 45-step skincare routine and no empathy”.
Iconic actor Steve Coogan answered the toughest of questions when host Patrick Kielty put it to him straight: Are you Team Mick or Team Roy?
Tough but fair, since Coogan is playing Mick McCarthy in the upcoming film Saipan about the infamous incident at the 2002 World Cup, he must have known that he would have to answer the question that has seen many a relationship torn apart.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, since he is portraying him on the silver screen, Coogan said he is Team Mick but only by a fraction.
“My mother would never hear a word said against Roy Keane however badly behaved he was on the field,” Coogan said.
Some may say his mother is a wise woman however, she got it wrong when she thought the family could never show their faces in Ireland again after Coogan did his Martin Brennan sketch.
The classic bit saw Coogan play Irishman Martin Brennan appearing on a chat show hosted by Alan Partridge – also played by Coogan – who breaks out into a rendition of Come Out, Ye Black and Tans making the British hosts desperately uncomfortable.
“You have to play with fire sometimes to get the right kind of laugh and I felt with Martin Brennan’s character I felt I was familiar enough with the Irish not to do those awful cliches that really irritate the Irish because I know, I grew up with a lot of people like Martin Brennan,” he said.
It was important that Martin got the better of Partridge though, Coogan said, because as an Englishman he has a very cliched view of Ireland and although Martin appears the fool, he wins out.
In the end, Mammy Coogan was wrong because Martin Brennan is an Irish fan favourite and we will welcome Steve Coogan any day.
Singer Gabrielle serenaded the audience with two of her biggest hits, Dream and Out of Reach, but her interview left a lasting impression.
Kielty asked her to return to a time in her life when she wasn’t confident and never dreamed that she would become the star that she became.
As a young woman, Gabrielle says she shied away from the limelight, conscious that she didn’t look a certain way.
It was only when she donned an eye patch that “gave me the confidence… the moment I put on this eye patch, I felt empowered”.
The award-winning singer said that being able to cover her lazy eye gave her confidence but now, she embraces her “imperfection”.
Gabrielle only wore the eye patch for around a year and she told Kielty that she hopes she has paved the way for other people, especially women, not to allow themselves to hide their light because of an insecurity.
The Late Late Show Valentine’s Day special has become a bit of a favourite in recent years – up there with the country special but not quite rivalling the Toy Show.
You would think given Valentine’s has fallen on a Friday night this year that we were set for an extra special Valentine’s special but the raucous scenes from the RTÉ studio were nowhere to be seen.
Gone was the rambunctious audience, replaced with the usual crowd of polite, cue-following adults.
There was a bit of craic when some members of the audience recalled their worst Valentine’s Day experiences in the hopes of winning a weekend break in Donegal, moments after Katherine Ryan had gently roasted the wonderful county.
Beyond that, it was par for the course for this week’s Late Late.
