Lucy Kennedy reflects on pal Barry Keoghan's meteoric rise to stardom

The TV presenter got to know the Saltburn actor on a very personal level when she lived with him in 2019 for her hit show Living with Lucy

Lucy Kennedy never saw her pal Barry Keoghan becoming an A-lister in Hollywood, but she does hope he’ll nab her tickets for his popstar girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter’s arena tour.

The TV presenter got to know the Saltburn actor on a very personal level when she lived with him in 2019 for her hit show Living with Lucy.

Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Lucy said she never doubted his acting abilities, but never saw him becoming the megastar he is today.

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She said: "I really didn’t… I loved him as a person, I saw him like a younger brother and he is kind of like the cheeky chappy next store. He is so likeable but he’s quite shy so he plays everything down."

For the show, she spent the weekend in Barry’s Los Angeles home. She was with the actor when he got the call that changed the trajectory of his career- he was cast as Druig in Marvel’s Eternals.

Lucy said: "He was kind of embarrassed to say he got it and I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I was so excited for him and I wanted to phone everybody. But he kind of took it in his stride, he is a very shy and lovely, lovely, guy, and there is no ego whatsoever.

"It was only when I saw the movie Eternals that I went ‘I just washed his jocks and slagged him and he’s actually a big deal!’

"He has always played it down, he has played the whole thing down."

Despite being in a relationship with one of the world’s biggest pop stars at the moment, the TV presenter said he hasn’t lost his innate humility.

Lucy hopes he’ll get her tickets for Sabrina’s Dublin tour- as it sold out in minutes.

She said: "My daughter is obsessed with his current girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter, I’m going to ask him if he can get me tickets.

"He better, I cleaned his house for three days when we shared, so he better!"

The presenter's brand new series Real Life With Lucy airs tonight at 9pm on Virgin Media One.

In it, she explores different areas of contemporary life. The first episode follows Lucy as she tries to connect with the spiritual world with help from psychics, mediums, enthusiasts and a witch.

Lucy said she has always believed in a different realm and has gone to psychics in the past- but the episode left her confused.

She said: "I love mediums and anything to do with that, any time in my life when I needed career guidance and love life advice I have gone to fortune tellers.

"So I’m big into it, but filming the documentary I was one minute believing, one minute not. I was very aware that I’m into this but I know the next person isn’t, so I was trying to make sure it wasn’t completely one-sided."

On the show, Lucy had a past life reading from psychic medium Natasha Bracken - who told her she was once a nun.

The presenter admitted she found it difficult to keep a straight face when the medium tried to “rid the trauma” of her past life as a nun.

Lucy said: "When Natasha had me on the bed and all I could hear was her nails clicking above me I was a bit afraid…I was trying to keep a straight face.

"But it was more nerves than laughing at them, there was just times when it was a bit weird, like she had these metal rods. It was so weird. It was nervous laughter, I found the whole thing very strange."

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