A man not known for personal restraint when it comes to sex and drugs and the rock'n'roll lifestyle is actor Colin Farrell, who was the first of Uncle Gaybo's guests in his new, spiritually-accented series, The Meaning of Life. The programme, with a pre-bedtime Sunday-night slot, is a series of one-to-one interviews in which the ever avuncular Byrne chats with "a well-known personality" about the big questions. Why are we here? Is there a God? Why do bad things happen? And what happens when we die? Phew, and you thought it was time for the cocoa.
The Meaning of Lifeso smacks of inclusivity and a conscious broadening of the range of religious- and spiritually- based television that it almost comes across as a parody of itself. And in these days when talk therapy in front of the camera has replaced the mildewed privacy of the confessional, post-rehab Farrell, the archetypal bad boy
turned good, was a perfect occupant for Gay’s armchair.
Having had his mildly subversive suburban sensibilities over-stimulated by Hollywood paypackets, nostrils full of narcotics, and women collapsing over him like unsteady tents, Farrell is now, he says, clean. In a contemplative frame of mind, he discussed his joy at being a parent and described how his son, James, who was born with an intellectual disability, has changed his life.
It was all good clean fun, and pleasing to see Byrne looking so relaxed in his old habitat, a reminder (perhaps a salient one for whoever is choosing the next Late Late host) that the main requirement for an interviewer is simply to enjoy having a conversation.