Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s son amongst rumoured guests on upcoming ‘Late Late Show’

Ryan Tubridy certainly plans on starting September off on a high note, with the seasoned presenter set to welcome several high profile guests to the studio for the first Late Late Show episode of the new season. 

Speaking at the RTÉ new season launch earlier last week, Tubridy confirmed that the popular Friday night talk show will return to TV screens on September 3. Hoping to reel viewers in from the get-go, new episodes will take a slightly different format with the aim being to “entertain, entertain, entertain”. 

“I feel that it’s a very different type of excitement because the last couple of years we’ve gone back to a very different class of Late Late Show, but I have the feeling we’re coming out of that phase now and we’re into a much bigger, brighter place,” he said of the upcoming season. 

“I think the mood is better. Certainly, the shadow has been cast, but we’re emerging from that and we’re ready for a different gear change for the show. We’re starting to embrace the light and run to the crowd and the music and the entertainment side of things.

“I think it’s time to laugh again and to have more fun again. They talk about the Roaring Twenties – well, I’m all for that. Let’s be having ya, that’s what I say,” he later added. 

Keen to get a live audience back in studio, the broadcaster didn’t realise how much he’d miss having people around until such was the reality. “They are part and parcel of the fabric of the programme,” he pointed out. Already having done almost 50 episodes from an empty room, Tubridy admitted that it was “a very peculiar place to be”. 

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, the emotion of seeing that crowd for the first time and hearing the sound, that wall of excitement and applause. It’s fuel for the programme. We are very hopeful that there will be an audience in the autumn. I don’t know what size – it’s a rolling story – but we’re hopeful,” he told the public. 

But nothing will be done “rashly or in a foolhardy sense”, and the team will make sure all of their ducks are in a row before promising anything.

We're so excited to be back!

The new season starts Friday, 3rd September ???#RTENewSeason#LateLate pic.twitter.com/0mylDCLnei

— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) August 19, 2021

Sure to listen to viewer feedback, the upcoming season will be much less Covid-heavy than the last, with an emphasis on deviating from talk of public health and the pandemic… and true to their word, the show is making a strong start with the guest line-up for their first show back, which according to The Irish Mail on Sunday, includes Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s son, Pierre-Louis Baudey. 

Supposedly set to join Ryan on the Late Late Show couch, he’ll be on to discuss the harrowing details of his mother’s murder. Coming on close to 25 years since her death, there has been a renewed interest in the case thanks to two recent documentaries which aired earlier this year. However, almost a quarter of a century on and very few developments have been made in the story since. Still a regular visitor to Sophie’s West Cork home, Pierre-Louis is as intent on finding answers to the family’s questions as ever and hopes that the surge in people talking about what happened will help them to get the closure they’ve been looking for. 

Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington is also reported to be making an appearance on the first episode of the show. Fresh off the back of her success at Tokyo 2020, the boxer has been hailed a national hero on her return with everyone keen to hear more about her sporting journey. 

It’s believed that the debut episode will even feature a special musical tribute to singer Dolores O’Riordan, who died in London back in January 2018. Dolores’ mother Eillen will be on hand to talk to Ryan about her daughter, who is best known as being the frontwoman of Limerick band The Cranberries. 

An RTÉ spokesperson declined to comment on the guest speculation, though they did say that “all will be revealed in two weeks’ time”.