Patrick Kielty was worried he’d infected the Pope (Picture: RTE/PA Wire)
Patrick Kielty had a moment of genuine fear he had given Pope Francis shingles after meeting him at the Vatican over the summer.
The Late Late Show host travelled to the Vatican in June and was among an audience of 100 international comedians and artists who met the Pope, which he described as a ‘surreal’ and ‘weird fever dream’.
Kielty said that during his trip to Rome, part of his face had swollen up, which he had blamed on DIY work he had carried out at home.
‘The week beforehand, we were doing up a house, and I was lifting loft insulation and I thought I actually got loft insulation in my face. [My face] had all swollen up,’ he told PA.
‘When meeting the Pope, I took off my sunglasses and could sort of see him physically recoiling, “What’s going on with this fella?” It was only afterwards that I actually found out I had shingles.
‘So there was a chance that I had given the Pope shingles, but I was never so glad to actually see him the week after in full health, giving the blessings. It was a surreal experience.’
He thought he’d given Pope Francis shingles (Picture: Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images)
The Irish talk show host admitted that he thought the invite to meet the Pope was ‘a joke’ at first, and initially felt like he was in an episode of Father Ted.
‘There’s a point when that call came in and as a comedian, you’re always reasonably sort of… is this for real? I thought it was a joke,’ said.
‘It was very weird. Then you see [actor] Ardal [O’Hanlon] is there and like everybody else, you’re going, right Father Ted.
“So just when you’re thinking Father Dougal’s going to meet the Pope then Whoopi Goldberg arrives in a car, who was by far the most popular person in the Vatican that day. Sister Act, apparently, at the Vatican.’
Kielty joked that Whoopi Goldberg’s appearance was like real life Sister Act (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
Keilty, who is the first host to hail from Northern Ireland and is originally from Dundrum, and he admitted there was a curiosity about him during his first series hosting his show.
He said that he will take ‘the rough with the smooth’ as he gets ready to host the next series, and his goal is simply to make ‘the best show’ he can.
The presenter is married to fellow star Cat Deeley and the pair have two sons, while his wife can currently be seen presenting This Morning alongside Ben Shephard.
Kielty’s wife Cat Deeley hosts This Morning with Ben Shephard (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
The family are living in London, as he travels between London and Dublin for his gig, and he thinks they have ‘the best of both worlds’ which means a move to Ireland isn’t on the cards.
‘I’ve got the house up in Dundrum for 25 years now and so I’ve always been back and forwards. The kids are in school in London. Cat’s working in London. She’s there four days a week.’ he explained.
‘I can just about come back and spend the time I need to do this. But she’s there four days a week, so I can’t see it happening anytime soon. I always called Dundrum home.’
The Late Late show returns tonight at 9.35pm.
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