Christmas in Ireland hasn’t been the same since the Late Late Toy Show was moved from its traditional early November slot to the first week in December two years ago. Historically, the Toy Show fired the starter pistol on the season of goodwill to all – and a later kick-off has had the arguable effect of delaying the onset of Christmas madness by several weeks.
But now, finally, the 2025 Toy Show is almost upon us, and arrives shrouded in more secrecy than is perhaps usual. Come Friday night, the wrapping paper will be ripped off, and we can have a proper goggle at what is in store – until then, details about the broadcast are vaguer than Santa Claus’s plans for the new year. For now, buckle up as we give you the lowdown, such as it is, on Toy Show 2025.
When is it on?
The Late Late Toy Show begins on RTÉ One at 9.35pm on Friday, December 5th.
What’s the theme?
This year’s theme is under wraps, though a recently released trailer saw host Patrick Kielty beaming aboard a Star Trek-style spaceship and zooming across the galaxy. So, it is not unthinkable that the 2025 Toy Show will have an interstellar vibe. Kielty’s 2023 debut paid tribute to Will Ferrell’s Elf, while last year’s was a valentine to Home Alone. Short of Kielty turning up in a bloodstained vest recreating his favourite scenes from Die Hard, it is possible that the Late Late is running out of Christmas movies on which to riff – so a space theme may well be on the cards.
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Will there be singing and dancing?
Details are thin on the ground – but the Toy Show would not be the Toy Show without a big musical number or three. The 2024 instalment opened with Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. Brace yourself for further seasonal shenanigans this Friday.
Any special guests?
One of the smartest things Kielty has done since taking over has to been to dial down the emphasis on big-name guests, which invariably just left viewers wanting more. Ed Sheeran and Dermot Kennedy have graced recent Toy Shows, but Kielty has put the focus back on the kids and the toys – so don’t hold your breath for a cameo by Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter. That said, last year he did make space for a video message from the Queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey – so anything is possible, if not probable.
What can we expect from Kielty?
It has been a challenging year for the presenter, who separated from his wife Cat Deeley after 13 years of marriage and lost his 84-year-old mother, Mary, who died in March. Whatever happens, the evening is sure to be emotional for him.
What if we’re watching from overseas?
For those tuning in from abroad the show will be available to watch worldwide live on the RTÉ Player on both the desktop and the app.
I’m an elf who has just fallen off the shelf – give me the basics about the Late Late Toy Show.
The first Late Late Toy Show aired 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 is now one of the biggest dates in Irish broadcasting, with 1.8 million people tuning in live in 2021 – a staggering 81 per cent of people watching television at the time. In 2020 – at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic – the Toy Show Appeal began, inspired by the brave story of Saoirse Ruane from Co Galway. Since then the annual charity appeal has raised more than €26 million.
There have been many standout moments down the years. They include Boyzone playing Scalextrix with Byrne in 1994 – though their attempt to spotlight the toy was derailed by the fact that none of the band knew how to use it properly. “I hope you’re better at the songs,” quipped Byrne.
We can’t forget Ryan Tubridy’s 2020 Toy Show where he dropped a live f-bomb after spraying fizzy pop all over himself (he insists he used a different expletive – beginning with “b”). A year later, Montrose welcomed Ed Sheeran, who was nonplussed by a kid who told him he was sick of hearing Bad Habits “a billion times” on radio.
Sheeran wasn’t the first pop star to grace Studio 4 – in 2003 Girls Aloud arrived to congratulate five-year-old Toby Kane after he covered their version of Jump. However, rather than leap with joy, he was shocked and didn’t know what to say. Did Toby want to speak with Girls Aloud, wondered host Pat Kenny. “No” came the reply. Cue baffled silence all round.
But if the Toy Show can yank the funny bone, it also has a track record in pulling at the heartstrings, as was made clear in 2017, when Cork siblings Adam and Kayla Burke were reduced to tears when their father, Sergeant Graham Burke, surprised them by flying home from a Defence Forces tour of duty in Mali.
