Paul Mescal leads this week's Late Late Show line-up

Fiachra Gallagher

Paul Mescal will lead a star-studded line-up on Friday night's Late Late Show.

Also joining Ryan Tubridy this week is actress Emily Watson, celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver and Oscar-winning animator Richie Baneham.

For music, Dundalk folk group The Mary Wallopers will perform their take on classic Irish ballad 'Eileen Óg'.

Aftersun star Mescal will join Tubridy in the Late Late Show studio to speak about his over-night fame follwing the success of Normal People at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and everythiong that has since followed — including battling it out with compatriot Colin Farrell for a Best Actor Oscar award.

Actress Emily Watson will also be Friday's show. She stars alongside Mescal in the new film God's Creatures, which is due open the Dublin International Film Festival later with this.

Watson, herself a two-time Oscar nominee, has strong connections to Ireland, having acted in Angela's Ashes and The Boxer, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis.

Veteran TV chef Jamie Oliver will chat about all things culinary and his stellar career, from learning to cook in his parents' pub aged eight to becoming a global phenomenon in food. He will also discuss his desire to drive positive change in food education and public health as well as his latest restaurant venture in Dublin ‘Chequer Lane’.

Tallaght-native Richie Baneham arrives at the Late Late studio fresh from his second Bafta win, where he will discuss working with James Cameron and looking ahead to his second Oscar nomination for Avatar: The Way of Water.

There'll also be discussion with the stars of RTÉ drama Smother.

Survivors of the Thalidomide scandal will join Ryan to tell their stories, six decades after the dangers of the drug became apparent. They are still seeking an apology from the State.

Alongside The Mary Wallopers, Mullingar band The Academic will perorm a single from their up-coming album, Sitting Pretty.