Patrick Kielty has revealed that the Christmas classic The Grinch will be the theme for tonight's Late Late Toy Show, as he prepares to for his third time hosting the eagerly-awaited annual extravaganza.
"The theme of this year's Toy Show is The Grinch, which means that someone may have to dress up as the Grinch. A lot of people may think that there's not much makeup needed for that!", he laughed during a sneak-peek visit to the spectacularly decked-out set in RTÉ's Studio 4.
"I'm very excited," the Co Down presenter continued. "Growing up in our house, Christmas never really started until you sat down and you watched The Grinch properly. There are a lot of lines in it that we would normally quote to each other, even when it's not Christmas."
While Kielty was keen to stress the 300-plus children from all over Ireland who will take to the stage tonight are the "stars of the show", he revealed he might be busting a move at some stage.
"I think there's a tiny bit of dancing there, but maybe not as you think..." he coyly disclosed.
The final preparations were busily underway on set, with a group of very polished dancers hitting the floor ahead of our visit to the magical, snow-capped world of Whoville - created by RTÉ's very own production designer elves - which has been generously strewn with cuddly toys.
Kielty teed up "amazing performers, we've got some amazing kids, we've got some amazing stories this year" and added that there'll be "some surprises" along the way, in classic Toy Show style.
The opening of this year's Toy Show will be narrated by none other than Irish acting legend, and famously gravelly-voiced, Liam Neeson, who recorded a voiceover especially for this year's show.
Seemingly hinting at Neeson's involvement, Kielty said: "I still can't quite believe we've managed to get that sorted!"
Although the pre-show nerves are "always there", even with two excellently-executed Toy Shows under his belt, Kielty said he "can't wait" to get going.
"There are two moments I always love. The first moment is to get up and running, whenever we're on air and you can't control it - this is a show that has got a life of its own," he laughed.
"The moments that actually make this show are not the moments we plan, [they] are the moments that just happen on the night.
"I'm now at the Zen Buddha stage of Toy Show where I'm not in control. Let's hang on for the ride and see where we get to!"
"There's something I do after the show, whenever we come off air," he added. "There's this lovely moment that I sneak back in and sit at the back and look at it and go, 'Wow, that happened', you know? It's nice."
The Toy Show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Far from the all-singing, all-dancing spectacular it has become, it had its humble beginnings in 1975 as a 30-minute toy segment presented by Gay Byrne at the end of The Late Late Show.
Kielty has a clear vision for the show's enduring appeal, which is watched globally by an audience of well over a million every year.
"We live in a world where even when families get together now, somebody's on the screen, somebody's watching something else, somebody's listening to something else. The idea of people watching one screen, having a shared experience - that has become less and less [common] around the world," he offered.
"We're very lucky here that this is one of the few shows in the world where families come together, generations come together.
"I think that anniversary is really important because culturally - what we do in this country and how we come together before Christmas - it's unique. The Toy Show's all about looking forward, but in our heads is always a nod to how it all started."
Kielty said he is "completely blown away by the generosity of the Irish public" when it comes to The Late Late Show Toy Appeal, which has raised over €26 million since its inception in 2020.
"We're told that this world is selfish, we're told that the world that we're living in isn't kind. If you look at this night, if you look at what families are doing, if you look at how hard people have to work, if you look at how much people have to save to actually try to have their own Christmas, for people to think about somebody else at this time, it's amazing.
"While we talk about 'Toy Show Night' - Toy Show is 365 [days] a year. Every day, if you look at what people do and how they dig deep and how that changes lives, right the way through the year, it is just amazing. We really appreciate that."
The Late Late Toy Show with Irish Sign Language (ISL) will be broadcast live on the RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ Player. For the third year, the ISL coverage will featyre deaf presenters Sarah-Jane O'Regan and Jason Maguire, working with hearing interpreters Ciara Grant and Lisa Harvey-Coleman.
For the first time on RTÉ, Audio Description will be available live on RTÉ One during broadcast, making the show more accessible than ever.
A list of the toys featured will be available on the show's website following the broadcast tonight and all toys featured will be donated to charities.
The Late Late Toy Show airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player tonight at 9:35pm.
The official hashtag is #LateLateToyShow
All images: Andres Poveda
