The Late Late Toy Show: All you need to know, from hordes of chirruping children to a jolt of jolliness

It’s late November, which can mean only one thing: The Late Late Toy Show is upon us once again. So get ready for the pitter-patter of Tubridy’s feet as the host participates in one of those extravagant dance routines with which the broadcast traditionally opens. Plus, there will be musical performances, top-level toy testing and potentially a visit from Ed Sheeran or another family-friendly troubadour.

Thematically, RTÉ is taking inspiration from the Wizard of Oz. Which means yellow-paved footpaths, an Emerald City and munchkins. (Unlike actual Dublin munchkins, they hopefully won’t run Tubs over with their electric scooters.) It will also be the first Toy Show in three years to take place in a nonpandemic environment, which, all going well, will add a jolt of jolliness to proceedings.

When is it on?

The Late Late Toy Show starts on RTÉ One at 9.35pm and runs until 11.55pm or so. It will be broadcast worldwide on RTÉ Player on desktop and app. Amanda Coogan, Jason Maguire and Ciara Grant will present The Late Late Toy Show live with Irish sign language on the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player.

The broadcast can also be watched on catch-up on RTÉ Player. Audio description will be available for the repeats at 3.15pm on Sunday and at 12.10am on Tuesday (which is to say last thing on Monday night), and afterwards on RTÉ Player.

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A fully accessible version (with subtitles, Irish sign language and audio description) will be broadcast on at 2.25am on Thursday, December 1st; this will also be available to stream. RTÉ will provide audio description for blind and vision-impaired audiences on the Sunday repeat. The audio-description version will be available on RTÉ Player after the programme airs on television. The programme will be audio-described by Clara Murray and Kevin Sherwin.

What about the theme?

After last year’s genuflection towards The Lion King and 2020′s Roald Dahl-inspired iteration, the Toy Show this time draws inspiration from The Wizard of Oz – both Frank L Baum’s gilded-age novel and the 1939 Judy Garland movie.

All going well, this won’t involve Ryan Tubridy being flattened by a flying house at the top of the broadcast. Instead, the presenter, along with “Dorothy, Toto and a whole host of munchkins”, will be off to see the wizard.

This raises as many questions as it answers. Will there actually be a wonderful wizard? If so, who could it be? Joe Duffy? Daniel O’Donnell? Marty Morrissey? What about the flying monkeys (potentially played by Joe Duffy, Daniel O’Donnell and Marty Morrissey)?

The host is pledging to treat us to a kinder, simpler, gentler Toy Show. “I promised we will be going home. I promised we will be talking more about Christmas, I promised we will get back to basics – and when people see that opening, people will know exactly what I am talking about,” Tubridy says. “Now it is time to simply get the treats in, to get the crisps in and the spirit back in the house and prepare yourself for what I hope will be the greatest night of the year.”

[ Late Late Toy Show: Theme for biggest TV night of the year unveiled ]

Will there be singing and dancing?

The Toy Show wouldn’t be Toy Show without hordes of chirruping children. It seems inevitable that the broadcast will start with Over the Rainbow, Harold Arlen’s Depression-era song about finding happiness in bleak times. “Escapism, love, courage, friendship and unity will feature as key undertones of this year’s themed show,” says RTÉ – which makes it sound as if Tubridy is going to arrive wearing a OneLove armband. Good for him if he does.

Any sign of special guests?

Last year it was Ed Sheeran, the 12 months before that Dermot Kennedy. So don’t be shocked if you see Hozier, Gavin James or a random member of Snow Patrol walking into RTÉ reception shortly after 9pm.

Toys… We need to know about the toys...

The perennial complaint about the Toy Show is that there’s too much singing, dancing and smiling when what we want are toys, toys, toys. The broadcaster has taken that on board: among the many playthings featuring this year will be “Squishmallows, Lego, Gabby’s Dollhouse, [a] Play Doh Ice Cream Truck, DJ Beat Boxer [and] Jurassic Park Baby Blue”.

[ ‘Out of my way!’ Ryan Tubridy cries, terrifyingly: Behind the scenes at The Late Late Toy Show ]

There will also be a showcase for Irish toys such as Quillows, CubeFun and Holotoyz. Sustainability is another theme, with Tubridy spotlighting wooden toys such as Arket, DluluKaloo and a 3D model Croke Park (hopefully with a 3D Garth Brooks who cries with joy when you push a button in his back).

I’m from Mars and have never heard of the Toy Show. When did it begin?

The first Late Late Toy Show was in 1975, when it was a half-hour segment presented by Gay Byrne to help parents stumped as to what to buy their kids for Christmas. It has grown and grown and is now one of the biggest dates in Irish broadcasting, with 1.8 million tuning in live in 2021 – a staggering 81 per cent of people watching at the time, and a big jump even over 2020, when 1.5 million people, or 59 per cent of the available audience, tuned in live.