TOP TOYS OF ALL TIME: ALISON HAMMOND AND JONATHAN ROSS TO FRONT CHANNEL 4 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

The Top Toys of All Time (wt) takes viewers inside Hamleys for a celebrity-packed celebration of the toys that defined generations.  

From timeless classics to modern icons everything from Cabbage Patch Kids to Operation, Kerplunk and Tracy Island will be unpacked and played with by Jonathan Ross and his daughter Honey, Alison Hammond and her son Aidan and best friends Lou Sanders and Harriet Kemsley. 

As our celebs get their hands on, and play with, the toys that they loved and longed for as children we will hear from toy buyers and experts, using classic archive, to explore the stories behind some of the biggest toy crazes of the last 200 years.   

The documentary is loosely based on Hamleys’ ‘Top 100 Hero Toys of All Time’, created earlier this year by a panel assembled by the retailer to mark its 265th anniversary.

The list features classic toys from Lego to Hungry Hippos to the Pogo stick and Operation and the programme will dig into a rich archive which will bring back fond memories of these classics, including ads from the 70s and 80s, as well as commentary from experts and historians.

Jeremy Daldry, ITN Productions’ Deputy Head of UK Factual, said: “Running amok in Hamleys is every big kids’ dream, and it’s just as exciting to have that access as a producer. This is an unashamed feel-good documentary, celebrating the classic toys, games and crazes from the last 200 years. Our celebrities get to relive their favourite toys through the magic of Hamleys after hours and we all get to indulge in some nostalgia for Christmases past through the heart-warming archive.”

Victoria Kay, Head of Buying and Merchandising at Hamleys said: “We had an incredible response when we launched our Top Toys of All Time list back in the summer - people loved the fun and nostalgia of it all - from media to countless customers and commentators all over the world. They debated their favourites, shared their memories - the topic has a wonderful universality about it...

"For this Channel 4 documentary, the ITN Productions team has tapped into the love of toys, childhood and play and sought to bring out the intense excitement and warmth to life that we witness every day in our Regent Store and across our stores worldwide. We are as excited as a child in a toy shop!"    

Transmission details will be announced in due course.