Late Late Show talking points, including uncomfortable moments from David Walliams
Linda Martin, Baz Ashmawy, and David Walliams with Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty
The first guest of the evening was star-turned-children’s author, David Walliams. Walliams was in the studio to promote his latest book but viewers were surprised by many awkward moments during his time on air.
While chatting to Patrick Kielty about celebrities he had met over the course of his career, he frequently asked the host if he had met some of those superstars, from Elton John to Liam Gallagher.
“You must have met him [Elton John] or interviewed him or something,” he said. Kielty replied: “I haven’t.” Moments later he asked if Kielty had met Bono and upon hearing a yes added: “How many times?”
The pair were joined by Baz Ashmawy, who spoke about a unique encounter he had with a fellow attendee at one of Oasis’s recent gigs and it prompted Walliams to ask Kielty if he had ever met Liam Gallagher.
“You're a chat show host. You've never met a famous person. It's somehow not right. You should have met them all,” he said after hearing “no”.
Ashmawy also told an anecdote about his mother not being a fan of tattoos, which prompted Walliams to make a joke about his own mother that left many viewers feeling uncomfortable.
“My mum's got tattoos. She's got ‘W’ on one buttock and ‘W’ on the other, and when she bends over, it spells ‘Wow’, which is incredible.”
Ahead of an advert break, Kielty thanked his guests, describing them as “writer David Williams and Emmy Award winner Baz” and Walliams immediately interrupted Kielty, who was mid-sentence talking about Ashmawy’s upcoming work, to interject.
“Was it an Emmy or an international Emmy?” he could be heard asking Ashmawy. “Okay, woah. Two Emmys. Two international Emmys. Two. Count them. Not one, two,” he said, holding two fingers up in the air before twisting his hand to turn it into a vulgar gesture aimed at Kielty.
This seemed to change the atmosphere in the studio, with Ashmawy gesturing to seemingly calm someone in front of them off-camera, asking them to “sit down, relax.” Kielty continued with his outro to what appeared to be a much quieter and uncomfortable atmosphere.
After the ad break, a — quite literally — fluffier segment was introduced as Linda Martin joined the earlier guests to give out an Irish Pet Hero of the Year award to one of three deserving dogs standing on the stage. Kielty said Ashmawy and Walliams could help choose a winner but said Martin was the head judge, prompting a crass joke from Walliams.
“You’re head judge? How do you judge head?” he asked Martin. “Excuse me?” she responded, while an incredulous Kielty added: “There’s no need for [that].” “Ignore him, ignore him,” Martin replied.
Viewers were not impressed by his remarks during the show. “Bit awkward to watch to be honest.” one person said on social media, with another adding: “What happened tonight? It was awkward.”
Others said they sensed a “tense” atmosphere after Walliams’s comments. “I thought David was extremely inappropriate and bordering on rude at times throughout his time on the show,” another viewer wrote.
In the latter half of the show, the band Kingfishr performed their viral hit and spoke to Kielty about how life-changing their success has been.
was written as a favour to one of Eoin 'Fitz' Fitzgibbon’s friends from the Cork town and became an unexpected hit for the group on TikTok.
“The song was written as a favour to a friend mine who wanted a song if Killeagh [hurling team] won a cup, which they did, and they sang the song and it was great. I don't think anyone ever expected it to go any further than that,” Fitzgibbon said.
They said Killeagh natives are now seeing tourists stopping by.
“There's tourists turning up now in Killeagh, taking photos with the sign and stuff, Fitzgibbon said. “They're loving every moment of it. I think it's a community thing.”
The final guest of the night was Irish woman Kathleen Richards, who shared her harrowing experience of living in he same house as British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West in 1977.
“We'd always see him [Fred] doing DIY, he'd always be hammering or banging around. He'd be in the garden digging, but I thought he was just building a swimming pool,” she said.
“But then you'd see the hole filled in, and think the guy's silly, like, you know, what's wrong with the guy? He just keeps digging holes and filling them in.”
She said she decided to flee them after being propositioned by Fred West while she was home alone.
“I heard him walking down the stairs, heard his door close underneath, and I just got out that bed and ran. I just kept running.”
She spoke about the guilt she felt at the time for not recognising them as killers.
“I felt so guilty because I was there, and how come I didn't help, I didn't save them girls. It took me a long time to get over that. Really, there was nothing I could have done.”
She added she is glad she later testified against Rosemary West, contributing to her conviction.
“I was told to go to court and give evidence and help convict Rose West. So I was glad I was able to do that.”
She urged anyone who, like her, experienced abuse to talk about their experiences and seek help.
