Late Late Show boost ratings after County Music Special showcasing Nathan Carter, Philomena Begley, Declan Nerney and Una Healy

Although the Dundrum comedian pulled in an impressive 830,000 viewers for his debut show, he is reported to have lost viewers week on week – until we saw the Country Music special induct Declan Nerney into the ICMA Hall of Fame on the Late Late Country Music Special.

The Longford singer-songwriter has delighted countless crowds over his six decades on the road.

It has been reported that viewership figures released by RTÉ saw the second episode of the flagship show boast an average audience of 548,000 while the third episode, on September 29, had 62,000 fewer viewers at 486,000.

It has also emerged that Patrick Kielty's opening show generated a whopping 158,000 streams on the RTÉ player, but subsequent streaming figures have dropped to 68,000 and 48,000 for the second and third show respectively.

The Late Late Country music special generated 53,000 streams, 18% higher than the previous special in March, and there was a 40% increase in total interactions on social media.

And it has been reported that Group head of entertainment, music and comedy, Alan Tyler, says the figures are encouraging: “We’re delighted to see Patrick connect so well with the public, particularly with younger audiences through RTÉ Player and increased social media engagement.

"To deliver audiences of over half a million in the midst of increased competition and in an age of on-demand viewing is a fantastic achievement.

"We look forward to seeing Patrick’s Late Late go from strength to strength.”

The encouraging figures come after reports that its most senior producer left just four weeks into the season.

Executive producer Jane Murphy has left the Late Late Show, having overseen its relaunch this year.