Important messages from children of Ireland made Friday night's Late Late Toy Show unmissable for Irish viewers at home and abroad.
The must-see broadcast of the Irish television calendar captured the hearts of viewers at home and abroad at the weekend, addressing a broad range of issues including bullying and homelessness, and telling compelling stories which resonated hugely with audiences watching on across a range of RT platforms.
From start to finish, The Late Late Toy Show team had gathered an ensemble cast of stand-out children, delivering messages demonstrating the essence of Christmas. From Dubliner Sophia Maher's defiant message to bullies, to Tom Cullen from Leitrim's heart-warming love for his Nanny Pat, and Lee Cooling's surprise visit from his sister Alex who lives in Australia, there was barely a dry eye in studio, or at home with viewers.
Sophia Maher, 8, Dublin, demonstrates Pikchu Plush Toys and Nintendo Switch, as well as a Pac Man game. Host Ryan Tubridy today said he has been overwhelmed by both the children who took part, and the overall the response to the show, which was the most watched programme on Irish television this year.
We have been totally taken aback by the response to The Late Late Toy Show on Friday. We were just bowled over by the children, all of whom came out with these beautiful stories and lessons in life and above all else, a sense of kindness and warmth and innocence and childhood, which is the essence of The Late Late Toy Show experience. The numbers are great, and the love and support is reflected in the texts and emails we have been getting from around the country and around the world from people who really seem to have connected with the show. Ryan Tubridy
The Late Late Toy Show 2019 was a ratings success, increasing on last year's numbers, with more than 1.7 million people tuning in to watch it over the course of the weekend on a variety of RT platforms.
The Frozen themed spectacular, was watched by an average audience of 1.35 million live* on the night, a 76 per cent share** of the audience watching television at the time. The live show had a reach*** of 1,871,500 viewers who tuned in for a minute or more of the broadcast. RT One 1 had an average audience of 26K. A further 134,000 viewers watched the show on Saturday afternoon on RT One.
Tom Cullen, age 8, Leitrim, gets surprised by his Nanny, Pat, on The Late Late Toy Show.
RT Player
On the RT Player, there were a total of 233,000 streams to The Late Late Toy Show from Friday 29/11 to Sunday 01/12. These streams came from 100 different countries, including Estonia, Kuwait and Honduras. This was an increase of 8% compared to the same time period in 2018. The first broadcast of The Late Late Toy Show with Irish Sign Language received an overwhelmingly positive response from both ISL users and hearing audiences alike, with over 28,000 streams. It was also broadcast on RT News Now.
Social Media
This year's show was widely lauded on social media with #LateLateToyShow trending number one worldwide on Twitter on Friday night and trending in Ireland across the weekend. On both The Late Late Show and RT One Facebook pages, clips from the night have a total reach figure of 2.7 million. The #LateLateToyShow clips on Twitter have received 1,883,400 views, with Sophia's clip alone hitting almost 850,000 views. On Instagram, pictures and videos from the #LateLateToyShow have a reach figure of over 480,000.
LEE COOLING (10, Dublin) - reunited with his sister who lives in Australia.
RT Director of Content, Jim Jennings said: Months of preparation go into this complex and demanding show, and so to see The Late Late Toy Show touch so many people, all across Ireland, is especially welcome. Congratulations to the team, but of course extra special congratulations to the hundreds of young people who gave the best of themselves last Friday night.
Dee Forbes, RT Director-General, said: Friday night's Late Late Toy Show was about many things: a big show with brave voices, electric performances, and of course some fantastic toys. But at its core were the stories and experiences of some remarkable kids; the nation listened, and we witnessed a huge outpouring of support and encouragement across social media. I'm delighted that over 1.3 million people tuned in live for this incredible showcase of talent, diversity, and inspiration. It showed, yet again, that coming together as a community is such a big part of who we are.
Notes:
Ratings Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen TAM
*Average audience (Live VOSDAL - Live Viewed on Same Day As Live) -The average number of viewers across a programme or series, expressed in 000s. TV viewing is measured minute-by-minute.
*Share - The percentage of the total audience watching television at the time. The share was 76%.
***Reach, Live VOSDAL - Reach is the number of people who tuned in for at least a minute of the show. Reach was 1,871,500.
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
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
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
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
P...
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...
Important messages from children of Ireland made Friday night's Late Late Toy Show unmissable for Irish viewers at home and abroad.
