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RTÉ

The most watched show of the year so far...

An average of 1,319,000 Irish people tuned in to watch this year’s The Late Late Toy Show.

SHREK SONGS, A dancing Mickey, the Billie Barrys, a “p***ing” baby doll, Ryan Tubridy and around 200 children helped make The Late Late Toy Show the most watched show of the year to date.

The annual Christmas merriment took in an average of 1,319,000 Irish people and had a total reach of over 1.9 million. With so many Irish living abroad, the RTÉ Player received over 107,000 stream requests to date for the show, 47,000 of which were live simulcasts.

The theme of the show was loosely based on the movie Shrek and had a record number of children from all over the country, with over 200 taking part.

Here’s a blow-by-blow account of the night complete with plastic projectiles, balls on heads, “one for everyone in the audience” give-aways, Christmas jumpers and “Any craic?” “Níl”.

Read: As it happened: The Late Late Toy Show >

In pictures: The Late Late Toy Show 2012

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33 Comments
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    Mute paul donegan
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:11 PM

    Ryan entertained the kids and the show is for kids , and mine watched it many times over the weekend so well done all the team on the show

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    Mute thatsit
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 9:33 PM

    He sure did. And entertaining moments like: “Any craic? Nil.” always pop up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2kOA7brWgc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    35
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    Mute Eoin Norris
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:14 PM

    Yeah. Tubs put on a good show.

    88
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    Mute Paul Driscoll
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 8:31 PM

    I Live in the UK and introduced both my kids to it this year courtesy of the RTE player app. The 5yr thinks its the best tv ever!
    It’s once a year and self indulgent to watch but who cares. RTE is there to provide entertainment and if 1.3m watched it I think you can agree it entertained most of the nation.
    I doubt whether all these knockers actually watched the show in any case.

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    Mute Eoin Norris
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 8:43 PM

    Oh you’re wrong there mate. Judging by my twitter feed the tubs haters watch the late late show religiously every week, ranting about how terrible it is to have to watch this sh*te. Probably to be fair the other 189 channels on their cable channels are down every week – that’s my explanation anyhow.

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    Mute Denise Friary
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:04 PM

    The nation was brained washed to watch a clown with no talent floging over priced rubbish.

    71
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    Mute Alan Little
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:06 PM

    brained washed, you’re funny.

    137
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    Mute runandosty
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:15 PM

    Hey, look, the cool kids who need to complain about everything. It’s a bit of fun an we all need that. Even you.

    172
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    Mute Shane Farrell
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:25 PM

    Haha I think this ^ post should be the default first post on every feel good story :)

    61
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    Mute Mick Kenny
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:30 PM

    love the show, loved the kids pity about the cardboard host with a personality deficit. Although he did seem to be on something on Friday.

    48
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    Mute mister
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:44 PM

    @runadosty…comment of the week so far, could not agree more!

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 8:07 PM

    Bah, humbug, Denise!!

    28
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    Mute John Deane
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:14 PM

    Why was Union J on the Late Late toy Show for? is that the best RTE can come up with? They are useless with no talent.

    57
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    Mute Richard Lennon
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:24 PM

    #Denise Friary,I agree with you the Irish are a bunch of brainwashed sheep ba ba ba and Union J was on because Louis Walsh ba ba ba ba.Lucky for me I never pay the RTE licence.

    28
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    Mute Ciaran Morgan
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:46 PM

    Rte operates purely as a conduit to enable friends/ colleagues/drinking buddies to get airtime to promote their latest book/band/pantomime. Most of the time they get paid as well!

    48
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    Mute damian
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 9:31 PM

    I thought it was a pretty poor show to be honest…. the production value was cheap compared to previous years. The camera work was amateurish at best…. they were zoomed it on a toy for example and stayed zoomed in at the part that wasn’t being demonstrated at the time, e.g. the apartment toys segment with the car ramp thing… Poor, poor, poor….

    38
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    Mute Justin Donoghue
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 11:04 PM

    Cinematography was awful also….

    23
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    Mute Olwyn Lydon
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    Dec 4th 2012, 12:17 AM

    What is wrong with all of you. It was what it set out to be. A bit of light hearted fun. I actually think Ryan was brilliant on it. There were quite a few double entendres to amuse the adults but he interacted really well with the kids n overall enjoyable. Half the losers on here appear on almost every single article and have some negative bullshit to contribute. I’m sure you guys sky+’d it just so you could pick holes in it and whine. Get a frickin life people. Jeez!!!

    34
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    Mute John Broderick
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 10:44 PM

    Ahh here leave it out, its the toy show….I.e for the kids! even us big ones :-)

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    Mute Marko Burns
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 8:26 PM

    They should put it on earlier if it is for kids and get someone who doesn’t look like he’s auditioning for a creepy uncle contest to present it.

    A bit like Tubridy on 2FM, Liveline and Mooney on RTE1, and Marty Whelan on LyricFM, it all comes across as a bit odd by anyone’s standards.
    But that’s RTE for ya. Twink should be Director General.

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    Mute Margaret Mc Avinue
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    Dec 4th 2012, 12:51 AM

    Not Twink

    4
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    Mute John Roche
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:48 PM

    Tubridy is overpaid and rte wont admit that they have a dud on their hands. If a donkey ( or should I say some other donkey) was presenting the toy show it would get viewers.

    23
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    Mute Max Brow
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:33 PM

    Viewers tune in because kids want to see it. Has nothing to do with Tubridy other than show where his abilities lie. I.E. hosting a kids programme and being paid about €20,000 per year.

    21
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    Mute Nydon
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 8:57 PM

    An adult seriously critiquing the toyshow is a bit like the pope reviewing condoms.
    While us people with teenage kids are well aware of how little we know about anything on this subject, pity the poor young adults on here who, in their delusion, still believe they’re views are in any way valid. :0)

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    Mute Nydon
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 9:00 PM

    oops – their views

    7
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    Mute Marcus Kiely
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 7:31 PM

    not much too be proud of rte

    18
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    Mute Jack Dooner
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    Dec 3rd 2012, 9:51 PM

    RTE cuts were really clear on the show!

    10
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    Mute William Ruane
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    Dec 4th 2012, 12:23 AM

    My kids liked it, I thought he was dreadful, juggling dangerously between entertaining a mixed audience and insulting children…my kids felt sorry for some of them.

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    Mute Ian Lloyd Anderson
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    Dec 4th 2012, 7:32 AM

    Jaysus lads, but we do love a moan!! It’s the Toy Show for f#%k sake!

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    Mute Steve Herron
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    Dec 4th 2012, 11:09 AM

    I enjoyed it. Sue me. Tubs has a good way with the kids and they all seemed thrilled to be there.

    As soon as I saw that wee fella with the flat cap and blue glasses I knew we were on to a winner. A thousand new memes were born on Friday.

    5
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    Mute Lorraine Brennan
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    Dec 4th 2012, 12:58 AM

    well said olwyn. always someone there to put a downer on things and looking for perfection . also anyone know where I can get the list of the toys shown? the link on the rte page is broken, wont load any time I click on it.

    4
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    Mute Ed
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    Dec 4th 2012, 12:43 AM

    I kinda enjoyed it, thought RT was all too frantic, the format has potential

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    Mute Eamonn Duggan
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    Dec 4th 2012, 6:36 AM

    The most watched “show”, what programme had the highest audience? the toy show was in third place behind….

    2
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