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.
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
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.
