Meet the Dripsey woman inspired to make this amazing Late Late Toy Show cake

Christine Naughton made this incredible Roald Dahl-inspired cake as a tribute to the Toy Show

Fri, 27 Nov, 2020 - 11:46

Christine Naughton is a huge fan of The Late Late Toy Show. "I have always wanted to win a ticket to be in the audience for the Toy Show," she told the Irish Examiner. "In 2018, they ran a competition to win Toy Show treats, and I was positive that it was going to be Roald Dahl."

So, the Dripsey woman set to work, creating a sugar-craft masterpiece inspired by her predicted theme and the best bits from Toy Shows past. "The top of the cake is all Roald Dahl and then as you go further down, you'll see themes from years gone by, like The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book."

The cake took two days to create and includes all of Christine's best bits of the Toy Show, from a packet of Taytos to Dustin The Turkey. She even included a water gun for Ryan Tubridy.

"The water gun was especially for Ryan because he seems to love spraying the audience! Not this year though."

Christine is very diplomatic and refuses to choose her favourite host of the Late Late Toy Show: "I think what is so wonderful about the Toy Show is that whoever is hosting it comes with a sense of excitement and do their very best to make it fun."

What is the moment that stands out to this Toy Show fan? Her answer is easy.

"It has to be John Joe Brennan in 2009. He was such a character and his ambition of becoming a horologist made us all sit up and think 'yes we can be anything we want to be'," she says.

And she explains why she included the quotation at the base of the cake: "His line from Roald Dahl: 'For children, fantasy always comes first' really is the essence of the Toy Show."

Tonight, like families all over the country, Christine will sit down with her husband Ger Manley and their children, Jamie (16), Sam (14) and Alex (11) to enjoy what for so many of us marks the beginning of Christmas.

"I gave the kids Toy Show treat bags full of their favourite drinks and rubbish. There'll be no dinner tonight, just treats, and that's OK. The tree is up in our house and it's time to start celebrating Christmas."