The theme of this year's Late Late Toy Show has been revealed as host Ryan Tubridy and a tribe of young performers and toy testers get ready to go wild for the biggest night on the TV calendar.
After a year where children were restricted in play and socialising with their friends, they will get a very special invitation to step into the sun as the theme of this year's Late Late Toy Show takes inspiration from the Disney classic, The Lion King. The night looks set to live the Hakuna Matata no worries' philosophy with children ruling the jungle in the studio and at home, for the most exciting TV event of the year.
The toy testers and performers will flock from all corners of Ireland, with the youngest cub aged just four years old, as they prepare for the most magical of nights.
As always, Ryan and The Late Late Toy Show elves will have a few surprise delicacies up their sleeves that will be sure to make you roar! There's more to see than can ever be seen, as they have been on the pulse of the latest and greatest, and hottest new toys in the kingdom. We hear whispers that Fidgets, Pop-its and a Labradoodle called Moji are among the top toys on this year's toy list.
Ryan Tubridy said: Everyone has been locked up for a long time and that's why we need to head out into the wild and join our friends in The Lion King. This isn't just a theme; it is a movement. Every child can leave the house and leave the room and leave the kitchen and roam free in the jungle of their families because they are the boss tonight. So, it is the future, it is wild, and it is beautiful. Join us in the jungle, we will see you tonight.
It's a problem-free philosophy, the show will feature not one, but two musical performances from Ryan.
This year's magical Lion King inspired set was created by the RT production Design Department, led by Marcella Power. RT 's Costume and Make-Up departments, with costume led by Brigette Horan, have also been busily prepping the cast ahead of Friday's extravaganza. The show is produced and guided into the light by Hilary Jones and Kate Olohan and directed by Alan Byrne.
Brigette Horan, Head of RTE Costume Department said: Viewers can expect a magical fun-filled Toy Show with wonderful children wearing magical costumes. The vision and thought process behind this year's designs by costume designer Stacey Gallagher and the Costume Design Team was to dramatically create nature at its best, bursting with colour and texture and delivering costume structures that will move effortlessly and comfortably for the children to perform and depict the characters. Enjoy the magic.
The Toy Show Appeal
The Toy Show Appeal is back for its second year running, which last year raised a staggering 6.6mn of much-needed funds for Irish charities where an estimated 635,690 children and their families will benefit from a huge variety of different support organisations.
Donations can be made via www.rte.ie/toyshowappeal and we are pleased to this year to welcome proceeds through the Donations tab on the Revolut app which will go live on the night.
RT Player
Watch Free Worldwide
For many lions and lionesses at home, both big and small, it has now become an annual family tradition to nestle around the television where the nation comes together to create new memories and have no worries as The Late Late Toy Show 2021 kicks off festive cheer tonight. Last year, our global audience tuned in from over 100 countries to watch the spectacle including Irish hot spots like London, New York, Boston, Dubai and Sydney.
So, no matter who you are, which country you are from, experience the love tonight for free on RT One & RT Player at 9:35 pm, where everyone is invited.
This year we will have Amanda Coogan, Aisling Dragoi and Sarah Jane O'Regan presenting The Late Late Toy Show live with Irish Sign Language (ISL) on the RT News channel and RT Player. The Late Late Toy Show ISL will be available for catch-up after the live broadcast.
Audio Description (AD) will also be available for the repeat on Monday night, and catch-up on RT Player after the repeat. A fully accessible version (with subtitles, ISL and AD) will be broadcast on Wednesday 1st December, which will also be available on catch-up.
RT Social Media
The Late Late Toy Show excitement kicks off live on social media tonight with up-to-the-minute backstage updates and the biggest moments from the show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. To join in the fun follow #LateLateToyShow #TotallyWorthit, @LateLateRTE on Instagram, @RTELateLateShow on Twitter, @TheLateLateShow on Facebook and @latelaterte on TikTok.
Irish TikTok sensation Miriam Mullins will bring viewers on an exclusive behind the scenes look on TikTok at the final preparations for this year's show as Ryan and his jungle friends get ready to go live as the nation comes together.
Europe Stories
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
11/12/2025
Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Sky extends partnership with the Ladies European Tour for a landmark 30th year
Sky and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have announce...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Walk-on if you love the darts: James Maddison, Luke ...
10/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz presents world's first RF power sensor with 0.80 mm RF conne...
10/12/2025
It's out of the frying pan and into the sequins for comedian and actor Micha...
10/12/2025
Born That Way airs Thursday 18 December on RT One and RT Player
Born That ...
09/12/2025
For decades, music videos have done more than just accompany a song; they've shaped style, started conversations, and helped us fall in love with our favori...
09/12/2025
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Judy Murray calls for PE to be a priority for all schoo...
09/12/2025
Kyocera and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrate OTA characterization of mmWave PAAM at C...
09/12/2025
Wuppertal December 9, 2025
Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Pa...
09/12/2025
Another year, another 12 months of amazing adventures.
We are pleased to bring you our Highlights of the Year 2025.
We've worked hard and played hard this...
The theme of this year's Late Late Toy Show has been revealed as host Ryan Tubridy and a tribe of young performers and toy testers get ready to go wild for the biggest night on the TV calendar.
