"When you've grown up watching the Toy Show and you've got kids of your own, you know, to be part of the Toy Show at all is a big, big deal."

Patrick Kielty is under no illusion that hosting The Late Late Toy Show is as big a gig as his first night on the job as the new host of The Late Late Show.

And in the glistening eyes of all the extra viewers who will tune in this Friday, it is an exceptional task bestowed upon a chosen few. For many of them, The Toy Show heralds the start of the Christmas season across Ireland.

Kielty is the new 'Toy Man' and expectations are high and nobody is feeling that more than the Co Down native right now.

"The people that have hosted the Toy Show and the weight of expectation... you try not to think about those things. It's a big, big night," he told RTÉ Entertainment.

Growing up in Dundrum in Co Down, Kielty describes his childhood Christmases as the "best times" that saw neighbours, friends, and business associates welcomed into his family's "open house".

"My dad owned the building company, and so you had that thing of the last Friday before Christmas when everybody got paid in the village.

"Our house in Dundrum is right beside the chapel, so after midnight mass, everybody would call in. Anybody from people that my dad had done business with to the postman. Everybody got a Christmas drink in our house and there was always a turkey sandwich on the go.

"So, our house would have always been an open house and all the better for it."

While Christmas Eve may have been about the wider Dundrum community, Christmas morning was all about Kietly and his brothers. "Evel Knievel would have been a big toy in our house," he says, mindful that he is "showing his age".

And like many other households across Ireland, it sounds like utter chaos mixed with utter joy.

"I remember we had a remote-controlled Jeep one year, which instead of plugging in the battery... I plugged it straight into the wall and almost burnt the house down on Christmas morning!"

Kielty, who married fellow TV presenter Cat Deeley in 2012, is father to two boys, Milo, seven, and James, five, and reckons they have been helping him prep for the Toy Show since they were born.

"Having a five and a seven-year-old has basically meant that there's been seven years of preparation for the Toy Show. The amount of Lego that I have built, the amount of Lego that I have stood on, the amount of toys that I have fixed, the amount of toys that I have built over the years... I would say that's the prep. The prep is real life."

Kielty also revealed that he has been spending "a lot" of time in the RTÉ Costume Department, as well as "stretching", so it sounds like it will be an energetic and colourful show.

However, he was reluctant to share any more details than that, not only because he didn't want to ruin any surprises, but because "like all good Toy Shows, best-laid plans will always go in a different direction once you add the kids and once you are live on TV. Watch this space."

Watching this space is what TV viewers have been doing since Kielty stepped onto The Late Late Show set in September.

Anticipation was high - would he be able to fill the boots of Gay, Pat and Ryan, or would he be looking to shake up the style with his own pair of shiny shoes?

While there has been some playing around with the format - some weeks it has worked, others it has not - the overall consensus is that he is putting his own stamp on the show, but the guest list could do with being spiced up. Hopefully, this will come to pass with the actors' strike coming to an end.

When asked how he thinks the first half of his first season is going, Kielty quipped: "That's a very football question, isn't it? You're halfway through the season. Well, let's find out where we are in May. We know there are no leagues won in May," he laughed.

"I think we've been happy with our stars and, I think the team is playing well and you know, let's get through the busy Christmas period.

He added: "The first show was always the big thing to look forward to. And then the Toy Show is the next milestone. So once we get over these, two big whoa, big exciting shows, then we'll see where we are."

Like every other year, the Toy Show is a closely guarded secret, and Kilety has been well prepped not to give even a crumb of what we can expect this Friday night. He did divulge that he is hoping he will be able to get through the emotion of hosting a much-loved and uniquely Irish show.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through some of this because, like everybody, the stuff that can put you over the edge in that sort of happy, weepy way - all of the good surprise stuff and the family stuff, those are the things that I love.

"The key is how to manage to get through some of the stuff which is going to make the heart sore a little bit and maybe there might be a few, 'I'm not crying, you're crying' moments."

As a parting shot, Kielty declared there was one piece of Toy Show information he was willing to reveal.

With a quiver in his voice, he said: "Apparently, there's a new host, he's gonna be hosting it for the first time and he's not nervous at all..."

In your own words, Patrick, "Watch this space!"

The Late Late Toy Show, Friday 24 November, 9:35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

All images:
Photographer - Evan Doherty, Wardrobe - Helen McCusker, Hair and Makeup - Fiona Hogan, Set Design - Marcella Power/ Deborah Dunne, Staging - Tommy Lundy