Ryan Tubridy hopes to bring colour to black and white world of kids in difficulty

RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy has said he is upset by the homelessness crisis, and that this year’s Late Late Toy Show will make a special effort to recognise children living in difficult circumstances.

He was speaking at Cork auditions for performers for the Late Late Toy Show, where he said he questions how good Ireland is at respecting childhood.

“The current crisis bothers me,” he said. “It really bothers me. It upsets me. This is a toy show, it is a happy story but I don’t think we should let the opportunity go by without mentioning what is happening for a lot of kids around the country.

“My heart breaks when I see reports on the news. I heard one particular report that I can’t get out of my head, a kid was going to school and she was so upset because she was going back home to a hotel, just because her parents fell through a crack in the system.

“It’s just not fair. They’re sick in their stomachs, they’re nervous, they’re sad, they’re worried. It’s desperate. I don’t know if we can do anything about it, but I can’t ignore it. It’s too sad.”

Tubridy said it was time to remember children who don’t have a voice.

“I want to remember the kids who aren’t in a house,” he said. “I think it is really important that this is the year that the kids who don’t have a voice get heard, and I feel I have a role in that. It’s really important that they know that whatever’s happening in their world, that they’re being thought of, and hopefully the place will be kinder to them.

“We have a very good show, and a very big show, and a very warm show, and a show that’s bursting with happiness from the heart, but there are kids who just don’t have that, and I really want them to know that it’s not going to be bad always, it’s not going to be sad always, it’s not going to be difficult always. That this colour can come to what might be a black and white world.

“I get a great kick out of being ‘the Toy Man’, when kids stop me and say: ‘You’re the Toy Man.’ If you’re going to be the Toy Man, you have got to be the Toy Man for all children and not just for lucky ones.”

However, he said the show would not publicly go to homeless hotels to engage with children.

“I won’t be doing anything publicly in that respect,” he said. “We would have to protect the dignity of any kids, in the event of us talking to any kids in that regard. Even if they were to appear on the show, we would have to be very mindful of where they are coming from, to protect their family and their own circumstances.”