Toy Show featuring 30 local kids makes TV viewing history

The Late Late Toy show made TV viewing history over the weekend with The Lion King themed spectacle raking in a whopping 2 million viewers on Friday.

This year's show, that featured around 30 local children was a roaring success raising more than 6.6 million euros for the Toy Show Appeal as people tuned in from 150 countries.

Stuart O'Connor whose Navan based Spotlight Stage School featured heavily in this year's offering has been the performance producer of the Toy Show for the past fifteen years.

Speaking about this year's theme he said:

"The idea behind the whole show was to try and reach out to children who might not necessarily feel part of a group or feel part of society so the idea of the Lion King was that we are all part of the one tribe, regardless of where you are or what your background is."

Stuart who says work starts on the show early in the year admits that by showtime, the excitement is palpable. He added:

"It's a really well oiled machine, we have a great team we have a lot of people working on it. By the time we get to the live show, there is a great buzz and excitement.

"It's a special night for everybody, it's a special night around the whole campus of RTE, the whole place gets involved and I'm very lucky to have been involved for so long.

"It's a monster, you kind of get consumed by it in the last couple of months that you are just literally eating, sleeping, drinking The Toy Show. What's strange is when it's finished and you walk out of the studio and it's over, conversations already start about next year!"