Patrick Kielty says he is not ready to forgive the loyalist paramilitaries who shot dead his father inNorthern Ireland 30 years ago.

The comedian was just 16-years-old when his businessman father Jack was gunned down by loyalist shooters at his desk in 1988.

In a BBC One documentary that airs tonight, Kielty relives the horror of his death, and reveals the IRA tried to recruit him to exact revenge on his killers.

He returns to his home village of Dundrum, Co Down, for the programme looking at the Troubles and the impact of the Good Friday peace process.

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Patrick Kielty was just six days away from turning 17 when he buried his father and served as a pallbearer at the funeral

He returns to his home village of Dundrum, Co Down, for the documentary looking at the Troubles and the impact of the Good Friday Peace process.

Kielty said: 'I can't forgive them. But whether or not these people are in jail, it's not going to bring Dad back.

'I felt if this is what has to happen to stop this happening to someone else, I'll suck that up. I won't hug them and tell them it was OK - but I want to move on.'

Speaking of the time the IRA tried to recruit him, he tells the programme: 'At the time of my dad's death, there were thousands of armed paramilitaries and it would've been easy for me to pick up a gun myself.

'My dad's brother had been approached in the graveyard by the IRA to say, 'look, we could probably use a couple of good smart strong strapping lads like those Kielty lads if they're interested in revenge.'

Kielty, who is now married to TV star Cat Deeley (with Kielty, left who is now pregnant with the couple's second child), is a regular on the comedy circuit (right)

'They were told in no uncertain terms where to go.

'Everyone wants to believe their loved one died for a cause. But my dad died for nothing.'

Kielty was called into his headmaster's office at school to be told the news that his father, 45, had been killed.

He was in his building firm's office when members of the Loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters sprayed it with bullets.

Jack Kielty, who was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries the height of the troubles

It was a case of mistaken identity, with the killers believing Jack to be an officer in the IRA, a link that was immediately dismissed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and family members.

Patrick said: 'They said to me, 'Your dad's been shot'. I remember saying almost immediately, 'Is he dead?', and they said yes.'

Kielty, who is now married to TV star Cat Deeley, was just six days away from turning 17 when he buried his father and served as a pallbearer at the funeral.

'At the time you think, "Let's just get through the next day". My younger brother Cathal was just 11 at the time and I think it was much harder for him.

William Bell, Delbert Watson and David Curlett were eventually sentenced to life for the murder but were freed in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

'For me it was absolutely part of the process,' Kielty said.

'People talk about making peace, and then they draw their line in the sand and say, 'I'll make peace here'.

Three years ago, while doing a show in Belfast, Patrick was approached by a woman who threw new light on his father's death.

In the show, (pictured) Kielty meets jailed IRA killer Billy Hutchinson who has turned his back on violence, and Richard Moore, who forgave the soldier who blinded him

Kielty is pictured alongside Labour politician and secretary for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam

Investigative journalist Roger Cook had exposed a local protection racket being run by James Craig, an Ulster Defence Association commander, in his current affairs show The Cook Report, but Craig then tried to sue the programme.

'This woman told me that her husband and my dad had been going to give evidence in the trial against James Craig,' says Kielty.

'And I didn't know that. Apparently they gave evidence behind a screen but then the trial collapsed and both men were then identifiable.'

It is now claimed that Jack Kielty was shot to send out a warning to others to keep quiet.

Craig was never brought to justice as he was himself shot dead by the UDA a few months later.

Kielty added: 'My dad was a brave man but it was my mum who wanted to protect us. She's the one who raised the family and kept us together. She was 46 when he died and she never remarried.'

In the show Patrick also meets jailed IRA killer Billy Hutchinson, who has renounced violence, and Richard Moore, who forgave the soldier who blinded him.

My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me is on tonight on BBC One at 9pm.