A layer of frost and ice has descended upon RTE’s Donnybrook campus ahead of tonight’s Late Late Toy Show.
RTE’s Studio 4 has been magically transformed into Elsa’s Ice Palace from hit Disney film Frozen for the most joyful night on the Irish TV calendar.
More than 200 children from across the country will perform during the live show, with some playing the key characters from the franchise, including sisters Ana and Elsa, reindeer Sven and an array of snowchildren.
Olaf, the bumbling snowman in possession of a solitary tooth, will be played by host Ryan Tubridy who is taking his usual method approach to the role.
“I’ve gone full goof this time,” he said at a sneak preview of the set. “I had to go to the dentist to get a special bracket put into my mouth so I could have a proper Olaf tooth.
“I mean, I’m really doing this. I sat in a dentist chair for the Toy Show. Think about that, the pain I suffered to bring joy!”
Asked if he will lose his head on the night as Olaf frequently does in the movies, he said: “Are we still talking about Frozen?”
Tubridy described the opening number as “terrifying”, revealing that his initial dress rehearsal was a “sweatfest”.
“I went into the costume 12 stone and came out two-and-half-stone lighter,” he said.
It may appear there are no lengths to which the presenter will not go for the Toy Show, but he revealed he has objected to certain elements in the past.
Recalling one proposed costume, he said: “They asked me to wear this outfit and I said, ‘No, that looks like a Liberace tribute act that could be in a certain club in town’. There’s only so much I’m willing to do for my craft.”
He draws the line at Olaf.
“I’m beginning to think, in a Nixonian-type paranoia, that there’s a bunch of colleagues who pretend to be my friend, they sit around the table and say how awful can they make me look, sound and appear,” he laughed.
Frozen 2 recently had the biggest global box office opening of all time for an animated film, so children across Ireland will be thrilled with this year’s theme.
The focus is on families of all different kinds, nostalgia and watching the show together, wherever home may be.
“Whatever class of family you’re in, whether that’s blended or unblended, functional or dysfunctional, of any creed or colour, or anything like that. A little girl said something very beautiful to me on the radio – she’s in a blended family – she said: ‘It’s not about blood, it’s about love’,” Tubridy said.
“Remember, these are what dreams and moments are made of, because there are people who aren’t there now, and who won’t be there in the future, so love each other and enjoy each other together.”
This year’s show comes just three weeks after the death of Gay Byrne. He presented the first toy segment, the precursor to the Toy Show, on the Late Late in 1975, and there will be a “special nod” to him tonight.
A list of the toys on the show will be available on rte.ie/lifestyle following broadcast. All of the toys featured will be donated to charity following the show.
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