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ELF UNVEILED AS THIS YEAR'S LATE LATE TOY SHOW THEME

24/11/2023

To Whom It Concerns

The eagerly anticipated theme for this year's Late Late Toy Show has finally been announced - and it's none other than the beloved Christmas classic Elf.

Patrick Kielty will be joined by Santa, Leon the Snowman, Papa Elf, and a whole host of workshop elves as they travel through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, past the sea of twirly-swirly gum drops, and journey through the Lincoln Tunnel for the most magical night on Irish television. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear, and this year's show will have over 170 young performers and toy testers taking part. The children hail from all over Ireland, with the youngest elf aged just four years old.

Smiling is his favourite, and ahead of his debut Late Late Toy Show, host Patrick Kielty said: I am so excited for my very first Toy Show and I am delighted to reveal that the theme for this year is an absolute Christmas classic Elf, The Movie. Sitting down to watch it with all the family has become a big Christmas tradition in our house and I can't wait to let Buddy and the elves loose in the Toy Show Workshop tonight. We've got some amazing kids, wonderful toys and lovely surprises coming your way. I really hope you have as much fun watching as we are going to have making it!

There is no place like home, with a beautiful set tonight comprising of New York's Central Park, The Toy Shop, Candy Cane Forest, and the film's Post Office Workshop, created by RT production designers. The RT Costume and Make-Up Departments have been kept busy making elf shoes, customised elf ears, and designing costumes with rich velvet colours over the past number of months.

There's room for everyone on the Nice List, and tonight's show is all about Toys, Toys, Toys! Squishmallows, LEGO, Gabby's Dollhouse, Bluey, Goo Jit Zu, Cookeez Makery, Biggies, Beast Lab, and Barbie Campervan are among some of the top offerings tonight at Santa's Toy Show workshop. Sustainable toy options including Bio-glitter, PlayMais set, Geomag Race Track, Bio Buddi set, Green Beedz, and TOYI Upcycling Craft Kit also feature. Plus, there will be cost-effective toy options with Barbie Fashionista Dolls, ALDI Littletown Christmas Soft Stretchy toys and a toy DeLonghi Barista Coffee Machine - can it produce the world's best cup of coffee?'

As always, books will have a strong prominence on the show, with a large majority of the featured children's titles from Irish authors. Irish toys set to feature include Arckit, CubeFun, 3D Model Croke Park, Little Angel Dollhouse and Holotoyz Tattoos, Antics Board Game, and a Bainisteoir Board Game.

Patrick and The Late Late Toy Show elves both big and small will also have a few surprises up their sleeves for viewers and lucky audience members alike.

A list of the toys featured will be available on the show's website www.rte.ie/latelate following the broadcast. All toys featured on the night will be donated to charities.

RT Player

Stream Free Worldwide

In 2023, a global audience from over 139 countries tuned in to watch The Late Late Toy Show on RT Player, with viewers from London to New York, Madrid, Dubai, Sydney to Auckland. Stream The Late Late Toy Show tonight on RT Player at 9:35pm.

Subscribe to The Late Late Show YouTube channel for all the best bits, including Santa's special visit to the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra.

ISL

The Late Late Toy Show with Irish Sign Language (ISL) will broadcast live on RT News Channel and RT Player. For the first time, this year's ISL coverage features two deaf presenters Sarah-Jane O'Regan and Jason Maguire - who will be working with hearing interpreters, Amanda Coogan and Ciara Grant. The Late Late Toy Show ISL is a real celebration of Irish Sign Language, Ireland's third official language! The Late Late Toy Show ISL will also be available to stream shortly after the live broadcast.

Audio Description (AD) will also be available for the repeat on Sunday at 3.15pm and on Monday night at 12.40, and afterwards on RT Player. A fully accessible version (with subtitles, ISL and AD) will be broadcast on Wednesday 29th November, which will also be available to stream. Audio Describers this year will be Clara Murray, Kevin Sherwin and Berni Stack.

The RT Toy Show Appeal

Working in collaboration with Community Foundation Ireland, the RT Toy Show Appeal is back for its fourth year to improve the lives of children and their families by funding essential support, health, wellbeing, play, and creativity initiatives. It has so far raised an astonishing 17.5m and provided support to 226 different charities and given 359 grants over that time. It supported 147 different children's charities last year alone and is estimated to have helped over 1.1 million annually since its inception.

Donations can be made via www.rte.ie/toyshowappeal and by the Revolut app.

RT Social Channels

Catch all the excitement from behind the scenes on the official social channels. The brilliant Kayleigh Trapp will host a TikTok Live at 6.30pm on Friday, with an AAA pass. Kayleigh will be with Patrick in rehearsals and bring you on a never-before-seen tour backstage.

The official hashtag is #LateLateToyShow. You can follow the Late Late right now to make sure you don't miss a single second of the greatest TV night of the year @latelaterte on TikTok @latelaterte on Instagram, @RTELateLateShow on Twitter, @TheLateLateShow on Facebook.

The Late Late Toy Show airs tonight on RT One & RT Player at 9:35pm.
LINK: https://about.rte.ie/2023/11/24/elf-unveiled-as-this-years-late-late-t...
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