Ryan Tubridy aims to sign off Late Late Show season on a high with guests Colin Farrell and Michael D

RTE has lined up a state of the nation interview with President Michael D Higgins for the final Late Late Show of the season.

Ryan Tubridy will sign off for the summer on Friday night, but insiders said the show could return earlier than usual, in August, if the Covid-19 pandemic is still impacting TV schedules.

RTE kept the Late Late Show on air despite losing its live audience and access to a string of high-profile guests.

It soldiered on, embracing social distancing and video calls for celebrity interviews.

On Friday, producers are hoping that a bumper line-up, led by the President, will end the season on a high.

Alongside Mr Higgins, Hollywood star Colin Farrell will beam into the studio via Zoom for an exclusive chat.

There will also be a special tribute to the frontline HSE workers who have been working heroically since the pandemic began.

"Ryan has been so proud of the show and what they have been able to achieve over the past couple of months," a Late Late source said.

"He has had Leo Varadkar on, and that did bumper numbers, so hopefully Michael D will prove just as popular a draw.

"Colin Farrell's career has had an incredible resurgence and he's midway through filming the new Batman movie, so it was amazing to get him.

"And Ryan was adamant they had to do a special piece for the frontline workers who have been fighting the good fight since Covid-19 changed everything in mid-March."

While the show will go on its summer break at the end of the week, there is a chance it will not be off air for the usual three months.

Sources hinted it could return early in August if the pandemic is still be curtailing live programming.

"The Late Late will go off for its summer holiday as planned, but there's nothing to say it won't come back earlier," the source said.

"If there's an appetite for it and if the pandemic is still going on, it might well come back in August instead of September.

"There has been a conversation, but it's nothing more than that at the moment.

"It's one of the few shows that can go out without an audience and respecting the socially distancing guidelines.

"As we know from the viewing figures, there's definitely an appetite for live television."

Graham Norton is another chat show host who has embraced technology to keep his BBC chat show on air during the pandemic.