If each country in the world was asked to fill a time capsule for any our futuristic generations to get a sense of their ancestral past and identity ours would include the following.
Tayto
The Rose Of Tralee
A box of teabags (Barry’s of course)
A ham sandwich wrapped in tinfoil
And...
The Late Late Toy Show.
Yes this Friday sees the return of one of the DNA strands that makes us Irish. An annual event so ingrained into our collective psyche that to try and explain it to a foddener would leave them baffled and you looking like a lunatic. THIS is why we need and love the Late Late Toy Show!
We thought we’d get you in the mood by looking back on some of our favourite LLTS memories...
Hating on the Billie Barrie Kids
Now let us start by saying that legendary song and dance school has been a wonderful outlet for the little performers of this country for generations but it’s also true to say that their stints on The Toy Show caused more eye-rolling amongst the youth of the nation for as many generations.
Gay Byrne
Pat and Ryan have followed and tried to fill his zany jumper but Gay Byrne will forever be its greatest ringmaster. It was like seeing your principal larking about outside school with his grandkids. He handled the mayhem and camera shy/hogging chislers with aplomb and we all waited for that one toy demonstration that would go beautifully wrong for him to give the camera ‘that’ look.
The ‘boring’ toys bit.
We’d all sit before the telly and ooh and ahh at all the latest flashing robots and incontinent dolls that the lucky sod kids got to try out and demonstrate but then Gay would take the opportunity to give us his annual lecture on ‘whilst all these gizmo’s were all well and good...the greatest gift you can give a child is the gift of a good book’. Whilst our parents would murmur their approval we’d curl our collective lip and secretly pray that Santa was out having a whizz during this bit. There was also of course his noble effort to promote handmade wooden toys made by local crafts people that were sturdy...OH GET BACK TO THE HUGE NOISEY FIRE ENGINE ALREDY GAYBO!!
The show stealer.
There was always one kid who would charm the hearts out of the entire country and steal the entire scenario by being so magnificently honest and assured that immortality was guaranteed. WE LOVE YOU JOHNJOE!!
The repeat on Sunday
Yes we had watched it all intensely and voraciously on the Friday night but in the days before you could record telly many of us would settle down to do it allllll againfor the Sunday repeat. There may have been a particular toy who’s tyres you wanted to kick before finalising your shortlist or it could have been a particular B.B kid you wanted to let annoy you again because secretly you actually really enjoyed their Grease Medley.
