For the first time in the Late Late Toy Show's history, the team have travelled the length and breadth of the country in order to secure enthusiastic young talent only too eager to entertain the nation this festive season, and it sounds like their efforts have paid off!
Explaining the motivation for getting the team on the road and meeting the children in their home counties, Ryan said: "The idea of this trip was to meet as many children from around the country as possible and for us to go to them, rather than having them come to us."
"It has helped because the kids are less tired, they don’t have to travel as far, so they are relaxed."
"They are on home turf and we get to get a flavour of the kids, their families and the country at large. This has been a success and I want to do it again," he insisted while considering the number of children who have auditioned for the much-loved Irish institution.
Clearly overwhelmed by the children who took part in the regional auditions thus far, Ryan gushed: "The talent has been exceptional this year. The Toy Show elves are very happy with what they have seen."
If we needed any further reminder that we have some incredibly impressive children on our hands, Ryan continued: "We have buckets of talent. This is going to be big, big, big!"
The show, which plays a massive part in every Irish Christmas, is an incredibly platform from which to showcase your skills and talents, so it's no surprise the younger generation are jumping at the chance to take part.
Commenting on the volume of interest this year, producer Katherine Drohan said: "It is getting harder because we are seeing people every day that we want in the show. We are going to have to find room for them because they are just so, so strong and there is no way we want to leave them behind."
But remember, you don't have to be a budding performer in order to take part in the magic of The Late Late Toy Show this year!
