Paddy Power had to halt its Late Late Show bets after ‘an explosion of activity’ from the public over one contender.
Over the past two weeks, some of the top runners like Claire Byrne and Sarah McInerney have taken their names out of the running with Patrick Kielty now shooting into pole position for hosting duties.
Late last night, following an influx of bets on Patrick Kielty, the betting giant opted to switch off the option to bet on the historic show's new presenter.
The comedian from Co Down kicked off the week as a 5/6 favourite but was backed into 1/5 to replace Ryan Tubridy in the top seat before Paddy Power shut the market.
Rachael Kane, a spokesperson for Paddy Power, said: “Things quietened down in the betting over the past couple of weeks but we had an explosion of activity yesterday.
“It was all one-way traffic, with customers willing to back Patrick Kielty no matter what the price and we therefore made the decision to pull the plug. This looks like a done deal as far as we are concerned.”
Kielty responded to the rumours on the IFTAs red carpet on Sunday night, and told Goss.ie: “The only thing I would say about the Late Late Show is a couple of things; One is that it is one of the greatest TV shows on the planet. Whoever gets that gig is going to be really, really lucky.
"The one thing people have to remember though, is, how big shoes they are to fill.
"You know, I've done a chat show before, I've done a live show before, it's hard. Whenever you've been on the Late Late Show as a guest and sat close to Ryan, you see how he does his stuff."
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