RTE Ten: TV feature

13th July 2010

It's safe to say that Ciaran McCarthy is a bit of ladies man. He might even be described as a roving rogue by some of the women in Weatherfield and he's been linked with several female residents, including Sunita, Bev, Tracy and Shelly. Even Liz even made an unsuccessful play for the hunky barman, but he turned her down - it seems his sights are set on another member of the Rovers staff.

Ciaran has made no secret that he fancies Michelle, but for the past number of weeks she's been giving him the complete and utter run around and then, just as she is about to agree to a date, she finds him chatting up another woman. "Ciaran knows Michelle has a soft spot for him," explains Keith Duffy, who plays the Irish charmer, "but she's just playing hard to get and he keeps messing it up for himself. He even ends up in his boxer shorts behind the bar at the Rovers, after a dinner date disaster."

Ciaran may be enjoying the chase, but it looks like it won't be long before Corrie's cheeky chappy will get his girl - and just before the 50th anniversary celebrations, which Keith reveals the soap bosses want him to be a huge part of. "They are gearing up now for some really big storylines for the 50th anniversary and I know they want me to be a very big part of one of those storylines. I can only imagine that will have something to do with himself and Michelle. They are getting together and their relationship is fiery."

When Keith first joined Coronation Street back in 2002 he used to commute between Dublin and Manchester at the weekends. This time round he is trying to get back and forth a lot more, he doesn't want to miss any time with the children if at all possible. "The travelling side of my job is very difficult. The kids are in school and I wouldn't want to uplift them, or move them anywhere else. J (Jordan) is 14 now and in secondary school, it's an important time for him with his friends. Mia is 10 and she's doing very well. I don't want to rock the boat."

When Keith gets home during the week, he is straight back into daddy duty, dropping the kids where they need to be, doing the dishes or hoovering! But it's not only the kids he wants to come home to see, he also misses his wife of 12 years, Lisa, very much when they are apart. "Lisa and I have been together so long now that she is not only my wife, she is my best friend. Like every relationship and friendship we have our ups and downs. But you always know you are never going anywhere, if there is a problem you just have to find your way forward."

With Boyzone selling over 20 million records worldwide, including five number 1 albums, receiving numerous music awards and Keith also starring in one of the most watched programmes in Ireland and England you would think the amiable Dubliner would be getting close to fulfilling his career ambitions, but he's not, as he explains, "I am very ambitious. I really want to further my career in acting. I love being in Boyzone and I love being part of a band. But to be honest with you, I'm more into Boyzone because I love spending time with the lads, we love reminiscing and having the craic together. But it's not my passion. I love being there because it's all I know and it's all I done for a long time. Me and the lads are so close - we've spent most of our lives together, we miss each other when we're not together. But my passion now and my ambitions now would definitely be towards the acting."

Keith's ultimate dream would to be to end up on an American TV series, starring in something like CSI, Grey's Anatomy or The Wire. "These are amazing TV shows. They have fantastic direction and budgets and wonderful script writers. That's were I would love to end up,. I never went to acting school or drama college, I was lucky enough to learn from the ground up on a show like Coronation Street. I've done some stage work too. I'm starting to explore a lot of the acting avenues - but ultimately American TV is where my dream is at."

It's only been ten months since Keith's "Boyzone brother" Stephen Gately, tragically passed away while on holidays with his partner Andrew Cowles in Majorca. It's not surprising that Keith describes the time since his death as extremely tough and heartbreaking for himself, Ronan, Keith and Mikey. The release of their album Brother earlier this year, which reached number 1 both here and in the UK, was a bittersweet moment for the band. "I'm glad that it was sweet and not just bitter you know. When we finished the album we just put it out there. We didn't do much promotion and we were absolutely blown away by its success. It's very hard not having Stephen here to share that with us. We're going on tour next year and it's going to be very strange without him. To be honest I haven't even thought about that yet, I can't. We're just going to have to deal with it when we get to that stage."

Understandably Keith did not want to talk about the recent press reports that surround Ronan's marriage, but he was more then happy to tell how envious he is of his pal's new job as one of the judges on the Australian X Factor. "Listen if anybody ever wanted to pay me a lump of money to go to Australia I'd be there. Of course I'd be interested. It's a great gig he's after getting out there. It's a huge show, it's the biggest production that's ever been put together for a show in Australia. It's going be massive. People must remember that Ro's been in the music business since '93. We all had 6 or 7 years out, but Ro went off and did other things in the music business. A change is as good as a rest they say, so I think he will really enjoy it."

http://www.rte.ie/ten/2010/0713/duffyk.html

Keith's Public Appearances

6th July 2010

Catch Keith at public appearances around the country in the coming weeks/months

July 31st - Broadway Boulevard, Llandudno
August 13th - Cotton Club & Shuffles, Wishaw Scotland
August 21st - Truckfest, Driffield
September 25th - Enigma, Market Harborough
October 2nd - Marilyns, Evesham

Source - http://boyzonebrotheralbum.com/news.php?item=123

Coronation Street: Ciaran & Michelle to get steamy!

2nd May 2010

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/gameon/view/133378/Coronation-Street-Kym-Marsh-hooks-up-with-Keith-Duffy/

STREET star Kym Marsh is getting to grips with one of soapland’s hottest hunks – while preparing for her real-life wedding.

The sexy actress, 33, who plays Rovers barmaid Michelle Connor, has been filming steamy scenes with Boyzone singer Keith Duffy, 35.

But when she’s away from the cameras, she’s been busy organising her marriage to ex-Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas, 30.

And while Kym is heading for happiness in her personal life, Michelle could be facing a rocky ride with charmer Ciaran McCarthy.

A Corrie insider told the Daily Star Sunday: “It’s been a while since she had a love interest, so who better to change all that than Ciaran?

“When Ciaran first returned to Weatherfield, Michelle was the girl who really caught his eye.
There was definitely a chemistry between them but after a few flirty scenes together it was decided to wait a while before getting them together.

When Ciaran finally makes his move, Michelle is pretty smitten – and who can blame her.

“But she’s not stupid. Michelle knows he has a roving eye and knows exactly what she is letting herself in for.

The writers are going to have a lot of fun with these two.

They’ve got some great stuff coming up but everyone will have to wait and see whether or not he strays.”

The pair are both nominated at Saturday’s British Soap Awards – for Sexiest Female and Sexiest Male.

Corrie: Ciaran organises speed dating night‎

28th April 2010

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/playlist/view/132705/Coronation-Street-Keith-Duffy-sets-up-speed-dating-night/

POP hunk Keith Duffy will turn the Rovers Return into a Boyzone in a bid to find all the single fellas a girlfriend.

The 35-year-old singer’s cheeky character Ciaran McCarthy turns Cilla Black by setting up a speed dating night in the local boozer.

He thinks he is on to a sure-fire winner because not only will he help couples get together, he can also bring in more cash for landlady Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard, 53).

Ciaran convinces her by moaning: “This place is like God’s waiting room.
“Speed dating is sure to treble the number of punters, not to mention the ticket sales at a fiver a time.”

He hires Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan, 20) to help drum up support.
Dressed in hot pants and roller skates, she heads to the High Street with fliers.
But Ciaran’s plan does not go down well with everyone.

Shopkeeper Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden, 70) tells Liz: “Speed dating is like fast food, instant gratification with a greasy aftertaste.”

Keith talks about The Door

23rd March 2010

http://www.rte.ie/arts/2010/0323/duffyk.html

Boyzone singer and 'Coronation Street' star Keith Duffy is taking time out of his busy schedule to participate in a new two-part show for ITV called 'The Door'.

Six celebrities take on the challenge of enduring a multitude of tests, all designed to instil in them a mix of emotions, from fear to total confusion, as they discover what lies behind The Door.

Duffy's Coronation Street castmate Jennie McAlpine also takes part as well as actors Dean Gaffney and Louisa Lytton, presenter Michael Underwood and singer Frankie Sandford from The Saturday's.

So what is The Door?

The Door is a difficult show to try and explain as the concept is quite unique. People kind of love seeing celebrities stuck in a box full of rats, for some reason, so there's loads of stuff like that! The set is fantastic and it's very impressive.

Were you scared about taking part?

I'm pretty easygoing and there's nothing I wasn't looking forward to, but the one thing that got me more than anything was claustrophobia and being in the dark. That was the thing that really got my heart racing.

So how was it?

Doing The Door was great fun. Everybody has different limitations as to the extremes they can put their bodies and minds through and, for some of the celebrities, it didn't take an awful lot for them to freak out.

Are you competitive?

I've trained in sports for most of my life so I'm competitive in that respect but it wouldn't break my heart if I didn't win. I gave it my all and enjoyed myself but I'm not competitive to the extreme. I'm just competitive as people generally are. We had to work as a team when we were entering through a new door and the first part of the challenges and then we become individuals and work against each other. It kind of plays with your head a little bit. The Door kind of shows you a really nice side where you're helping people and working together as a team and then shows your not so nice side where you're out for yourself.

Was it a pleasant experience?

Yeah, absolutely, we had a really good time. We really got to know each other quite well. Dean Gaffney I have known for years, so we had fun together. And Jennie, we're in Coronation Street together, so we're good mates. I'd never met the others before but they are all really nice.

How tough was it?

Some of the challenges are very physical but it was great fun doing the show. When viewers see the programme on the television, the way it's lit, the amount of cameras, it is huge.

Will there be lots of tension?

There's plenty of screaming from Dean Gaffney, and lots of retching!

The first part of the two-part special, The Door hosted by Chris Tarrant and Amanda Holden, can be seen on ITV on Friday, 2 April at 9pm.

Keith Duffy: "Success is bittersweet"

Keith Duffy has spoken of his delight over Boyzone's recent chart success.

The band, who released new LP Brother last week, beat Gorillaz to secure the number one slot in the UK album chart last Sunday.

The record is their first as a four-piece since Stephen Gately died last October.

Duffy, 35, said: "It's number one - it doesn't get much better than that!"

The singer also said a number one album is "bittersweet" but a "fantastic tribute" to Gately, who would have celebrated his 34th birthday today.

To see a short video interview with Keith click on the link below
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a209171/keith-duffy-success-is-bittersweet.html?rss

Keith Duffy teases Corrie love plot

17th March 2010

Keith Duffy has revealed that he doesn't mind which Coronation Street regular his character settles down with.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, the Boyzone singer, who plays Ciaran McCarthy on the ITV1 soap, hinted that his alter ego may be linked to Sunita, Michelle and Leanne in coming months.

Asked about possible love interests, he replied: "I'm sure there'll be one than one! [He's] possibly [still got feelings for Sunita] but I don't know whether it's feelings of a sexual nature, or whether he just cares about her.

"He's been chatting [Michelle] up. A lot of my dialogue has been charming her. She seems to be coming round a bit, so I don't know whether that's a sign of things to come..."

He added of a potential romance with Peter's girlfriend Leanne: "I don't know. I don't like that side of him! You shouldn't be messing with your mate's women!"

To see a short video interview with Keith click on the link below
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a209165/keith-duffy-teases-corrie-love-plot.html