Laois Paralympian set to feature on this week's Late Late Show

The guests have been revealed for this week's Late Late Show on RTÉ One and Laois are set to be well represented on the show.

Portarlington's Paralympian and World Championship bronze medallist, Nicole Turner, will join Ryan to discuss her hopes for Tokyo this summer and the challenges of training for a worldwide stage in the midst of a pandemic. 

President of Paralympics Ireland, John Fulham, and athletes Ellen Keane, Colin Judge and Martin Gordon will also feature.

Turner pressed pause on her academic life and took a year out to concentrate on the 2020 Tokyo Games which were ultimately postponed until this summer due to Covid-19. Despite her young age, Turner has been part of the Irish senior team since the age of 12 years old, and her rise to the top has been meteoric.

She won two silver medals and a bronze at the 2016 European Championships, and from there a whirlwind next few months saw her compete at her first ever Paralympic Games, aged 14, in no less than five events in Rio where she was Ireland's flag bearer in the closing ceremony.

On home soil, she won silver at the 2018 World European Championships in Dublin and followed this up a year later in London to win bronze. To top it off, she was named 2019 Para-Swimmer of the Year at the Swim Ireland awards and has twice been shortlisted for RTÉ's coveted Young Sportsperson of the Year award.

Also joining Ryan on the show is Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, Eurovision legends Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, Charlie McGettigan, Paul Harrington and 2021 hopeful Lesley Roy

Hollywood star of new series Your Honor, Bryan Cranston, will join Ryan to speak about his Golden Globe nomination, the differences between great TV and film making, and his greatest roles to date.

Her Eurovision hopes were dashed with the cancellation of last year's show, but Dubliner Lesley Roy is ready to finish what she started and will give her debut performance of Ireland's 2021 Eurovision entry, Maps, tomorrow night. Lesley will speak about her hopes for glory in Rotterdam this May. 

It's also going to be an evening for celebrating Eurovision victories and iconic Irish moments from the competition, with former winners Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, Charlie McGettigan, and Paul Harrington in studio for some very special musical performances.

The past year has shone a light on the vital importance of press photography in documenting unprecedented times, and Crispin Rodwell, president of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland will present a selection of images from this year's PPAI Awards with the overall Press Photographer of the Year announced live on air.

All of this, plus more on The Late Late Show, Friday, February 26th on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.