HE has a house in Hollywood, a gorgeous wife who’s the toast of American TV and a toddler son who’s the shining light of his life.
It’s hardly surprising then that Patrick Kielty is full of the joys when iN10 catches up to chat about Debatable, a new teatime quiz show that has quickly won a loyal BBC2 audience.
And while he may be 5000 miles away, County Down-born Patrick insists he and wife Cat Deeley and 16-month-old Milo realise there’s still no place like home.
“I actually don’t miss Britain that much because we’re back and forward so often,” says 46-year-old Patrick.
“We were back for three months from December, I was there last month, I’ll be back in a few weeks and then the whole family will be across in July.
“So we’re having the best of both worlds at the moment.”
Patrick’s all too aware that big decisions will have to be made as Milo grows up and school days loom.
For now, hopping on and off planes to revisit his family and friends in Ireland and Cat’s in the Midlands is relatively easy. But Milo is already at an age where American influences are having an impact.
“He’s starting to talk now and we’re thinking about what accent he’s going to have.
“Is he going to going to say, ‘Hi mom’? I’m walking round the house talking to him in the thickest Irish accent I possibly can – to the point Cat can’t even understand me!
“Look, I was 45 when I had Milo and all I want to do is talk about him.
“Cat and I joke that he’s the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, the main man, and the two of us run around the house doing whatever he wants.
“I know I’m not the first da’ that’s felt like this, but you suddenly realise what life’s all about.
“Someone said to me that babies don’t turn your life upside down, they turn it the right way up. I think that’s absolutely right.
“Cat and I are really lucky in being able to choose when we want to work. So there are huge chunks of time when we’re both with him here, in Ireland or England.
“That time goes really quickly when they’re really young so it’s nice to make the absolute most of it.”
Cat made a rare UK TV appearance on last month’s Florida-set finale of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, agreeing on the show to join the Geordies next year for a 20th anniversary SM:TV reunion.
But she’s a bone fide star on the other side of the Atlantic, with 12 series of So You Think You Can Dance under her belt with the latest just about to start.
Patrick says he “couldn’t be prouder” as he muses that only “Gordon Ramsay, James Corden and the missus” have cracked it big on American telly.
And his ready wit is to the fore when discussion turns to their relative celebrity status over there.
“When we walk down the street she gets properly recognised. You can see these teenage girls whispering: ‘That’s Cat Deeley! And who’s that old, grey man beside her?’
“And when we do the red carpets here we joke that people think she’s so nice for taking some fan who obviously hasn’t long to go out for the night to make his dream come true!”
This year marks their fifth wedding anniversary, with Cat revealing she’d been won over when – a decade after their Fame Academy friendship – he’d flown over out of the blue to woo her.
“There are so many things that have to fall into place when people get together,” says Patrick.
“For us, that was absolutely the right thing at the right time.”
In Debatable, contestants are posed a tricky question and weigh up a discussion on it by a panel of well-known faces before settling on an answer.
The mix of panel show and quiz is something Patrick admits took a bit of understanding at first.
“I’d be lying if I told you I knew this was going to do well when I first heard about it,” he confides.
“It’s like stand-up; you just aren’t sure until people actually see it.
“With a new format like this you’re excited and a bit nervous as well.
“But the feedback I’ve had is that viewers like seeing these people they know not knowing stuff.
“Then again, sometimes someone on the panel has been to the place or knows some facts and are quite informed. So there’s a randomness to every question that makes it fun.”
Michael Buerk, Peter Jones, Suzi Perry and Ann Widdecombe are among the, hopefully, helpful debaters sharing their thoughts this week.
Filing several episodes a day meant Patrick wasn’t parted too long from Cat and Milo.
Fun though it was, however, a TV studio is no substitute for putting himself out there in front of a live audience as far as Patrick is concerned.
Stand-up is the love he can’t get out of his system.
“When you’ve been on stage doing stand-up there’s an itch you can’t scratch no matter how much telly you do,” he says.
“You have to feel that nervousness before you go out and that energy when you’re up there.
“I hadn’t toured for about four or five years at one stage and was going stir crazy.”
And Patrick revealed Edinburgh has a particular place in his heart.
He’d played occasional gigs, hosted awards and worked on TV shows from the Festival, but two years ago made the decision to come to Scotland to do an extended run.
“It’s only when you go for the duration you realise what a special place it is.
“When you’re on the road you obviously don’t get the camaraderie you experience in Edinburgh. Stand-up comedy is a very solitary thing and up there you meet mates and see other shows.
“Edinburgh is like a self-help group for comedians. They get together for a drink – or maybe more than a drink – after a gig and have a group hug.
“It was important for me to get up there and feel a part of it.”
With the itch needing scratching once again, Patrick is writing material to take back on the road.
But, like everything else in their busy lives, tour dates will be discussed, planned and scheduled with military precision.
“Cat and I have to map everything out,” he adds.
“We have two diaries and we work everything out together. If a gig comes in for her then I’ll look to move stuff and if it’s for me she’ll fit things in around that.
“But there are so many things in life that you never really plan for. When I was starting out with my first gigs in Ireland I wouldn’t have believed I’d be on telly all over the UK.
“And I’d never have believed I’d marry the person I was hosting a show with.
“Now I touch wood for the good fortune I have and I try to be chilled about what’s coming along.”
Debatable, BBC2, Mon-Wed, Fri, 6.45pm.
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