The Late Late Toy Show is fast approaching and kids all around the country are getting ready for the most toy filled, fun filled night of their year.
Taking place on the later date of 6 December, The Late Late Toy Show 2024 will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:35pm, with Patrick Kielty returning for his second year as host.
From where to watch and what to expect, we've listed everything you need to know ahead of the big event.
Where and when?
The Late Late Toy Show will air on Friday, 6 December, at 9:35 pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Traditionally aired on the last Friday of November, this year's show was pushed forward a week. According to the show's festive trailer, this is down to the children of Ireland working hard to make 6 December an official holiday!
It seems that kids are set on making 'Toy Show Day' a real thing. Forget about bedtime, ban the broccoli and gather your tubs of sweets and jellies because on Toy Show Day the kids are in charge.
ISL and AD
Irish Sign Language (ISL) will be available live on RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ PlayerLive and on demand from anywhere in the world at rte.ie/player.
For the second year, the ISL coverage will feature Deaf presenters, Sarah-Jane O'Regan and Jason Maguire - working with hearing interpreters, Ciara Grant and Lisa Harvey-Coleman.
The Late Late Toy Sow ISL will be available to stream shortly after the live broadcast and will be repeated in the ISL block on Wednesday, 11th December.
Audio Description (AD) will also be available for the repeat show on Sunday 8 December at 15.05 on RTÉ One, and on Monday night at 24:05 and afterwards on RTÉ Player. Audio Describers this year will be Clara Murray and Berni Stack.
Living abroad?
Not to worry, this year's show will be available to watch worldwide live on the RTÉ Player on both the desktop and the app. So, no matter who you are, you can stream for free.
What's the theme?
As always, the theme of The Late Late Toy Show is the country's best kept secret right up until the day itself. Today, we are thrilled to reveal that the theme of 2024 will be: Home Alone!
Make sure you're not on a flight to Paris shouting 'Kevin!’ this Friday night and join Patrick Kielty and a host of little Kevin McCallisters and Wet Bandits as they come together to protect the McCallister home!
In true 'I made my family disappear' style, there’ll be plenty of mischief with staircase sliding, snowball throwing, Wicked performances, and lots of rocking around the Christmas tree.
This year will see 250 toy testers and performers delivering a night of surprises that will warm your heart and take you out of this world making wishes come true.
Speaking ahead of the show Kielty said, "I am so excited to be bringing Home Alone to all the kids of Ireland tonight. It's the dream movie theme for me, when I walked out onto the set earlier this week it brought a tiny tear to my eye. The big kids are going to love the nostalgia around it. Take a nap before we get started, because tonight is going to epic!"
RTÉ Social Channels
Catch all the excitement from behind the scenes on the official social channels. RTÉ 2FM's Taran & Aindriú will host a 30-minute TikTok Live at 6.30pm on Friday, with AAA passes! The official hashtag is #LateLateToyShow.
Which toys will be featured?
Every year, toys are kindly sent in from toy retailers all around the country, and the toys demoed by children on The Late Late Toy Show are donated to charities across the country in time for Christmas. The full list of toys featured will appear on www.rte.ie/lifestyle immediately after the show airs.
This year, toy testers will be entertaining audiences on Friday night with the games they've been playing such as the Beyblade X Xtreme Battle Set, Hot Wheels Monster Truck Epic Loop Bundle, and the cute and cuddlies FurReal Peanut the Playful Monkey and Real FX Disney Stitch Puppet Interactive Toy.
The much-loved book section of the show will see our readers sharing mythologies and histories; reviewing The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers, The Story of Irish Rugby by Gerard Siggins and Nina Peanut: Mega Mystery Solver by Sarah Bowie.
Irish toys they’ve been playing and creating with include Stomp Rockets and an Irish Bracelet Weaving set to name a few.
Who will be there?
Famous faces are a staple of this annual show. Whether it be Dermot Bannon or Davy Fitz, it's always amazing to see a child's face light up at the sight of their favourite personality.
Ed Sheeran was a decent surprise, too.
This year, Patrick and his toy testers will be joined by some special guests that he says will be kept top secret until the big reveal...
"As always, the surprises are always based on who our kids want to see, so we've got one or two that - if they work - should bring a smile to someone's face," teases the host.
The Toy Show Appeal
In 2020, the nation was inspired to donate in unprecedented numbers by Saoirse Ruane from Kiltullagh Co Galway, who won the hearts of the nation with her appearance on The Late Late Toy Show. Saoirse inspired the official RTÉ Toy Show Appeal that followed, which has raised over €21 million for children's charities to date.
Saoirse sadly passed away in March of this year. To celebrate her life, 2025 will see a grant award of up to €150,000 to be made in Saoirse's name to a chosen charity. 'The Saoirse Ruane Grant' will issue as part of the 2025 appeal allocations, and can be used over two years.
The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal is now open and the public can donate now by going to www.rte.ie/toyshowappeal or with the appeal’s official donation partner Revolut Pay.
When did it all begin?
The Late Late Toy Show began in 1975 as a half-hour slot at the end of The Late Late Show as a way to give parents across Ireland some Christmas gift ideas while their children were sleeping.
Quickly, it grew into a one-night show in its own right, complete with child toy-testers and performers.
First presented by Gay Byrne (1975-1998), the mantle was handed to Pat Kenny (1999-2008), who remained in that position until Ryan Tubridy took over (2009-2022).
2023 was Patrick Kielty's first time stepping into the role, making this his second go around.
"Nobody owns the Toy Show," says the presenter. "When I got the Late Late, I said I'm like the light house keeper of that show - you look after it and pass it on. That goes double for the Toy Show. The kids are in charge and all planning goes out the window."
This is Pan Collins. Pan came up with the idea of the #LateLateToyShow when she pitched the item to Gay Byrne as a researcher in 1975. Now an annual event on @rte that Irish people around the world tune into. Let's raise a glass to Pan tonight 🥂 pic.twitter.com/qizYBSxgiG
— Alan Swan (@alanswan) November 25, 2022
Who is tuning in?
RTÉ's 2023 elf-themed Toy Show sleighed its mission of spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear, drawing an audience of 1.7 million people. Once again, it was the most-watched programme of the year and even broke records on RTÉ Player with those watching in Ireland and around the world.
The toy demo kids also helped spread the cheer beyond RTÉ platforms, with #LateLateToyShow generating an enormous 26.2 million video views and 2.2 million interactions on social media.
"We've had over 100,000 applications for the 220 seats in there," Kielty said of this year's show, "which is just crazy horse stuff. If we moved the Toy Show to Croke Park, we still couldn't fit everybody in."
Safe to say, the Toy Show is for everyone - even Russell Crowe tunes in!
Doesn't matter where you’re from, if you have a kind soul and an open heart you’ll appreciate how wonderful this tradition from Ireland is.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) August 10, 2020
The #latelatetoyshow looking for toy testers !! https://t.co/np81ibqhxb
Full of incredible characters, knockout performances, amazing surprise guests, toys, gifts (there's one for everyone in the audience), everyone is invited to be part of the most phenomenal night in Irish television.
The Late Late Toy Show airs on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player on Friday, 6 December, at 9:35pm.
