Alison Hammond and Jonathan Ross to star in new Hamleys documentary

A new documentary will feature celebrities including Alison Hammond and Jonathan Ross as they are given exclusive after-hours access to the toy shop Hamleys with their children.

The programme, to be aired on Channel 4 over Christmas, will see the special guests relive the excitement of playing with toys from their childhoods, and will also feature toy buyers and experts explore the stories behind some of the biggest toy crazes of the last 200 years.

Chat show host Ross will be joined by his daughter Honey, while presenter Hammond and her son Aiden will appear along with comedian Lou Sanders and her best friend, Harriet Kemsley.

The programme, which has the working title Top Toys Of All Time, will explore children’s favourites from past and present, from Cabbage Patch Kids to Operation, to Kerplunk and Lego.

This is an unashamed feel-good documentary, celebrating the classic toys, games and crazes from the last 200 years

Jeremy Daldry, ITN Productions’ deputy head of UK Factual

The documentary is loosely based on Hamleys’ Top 100 Toys Of All Time, a list created earlier this year to mark the retailer’s 265th anniversary.

It will feature classic toys such as Hungry Hippos and the Pogo stick, with the programme showing footage from the archive, including adverts from the 1970s and 80s.

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!”

Cornishman William Hamley opened his first shop in Holborn, London, in 1760.

With the flagship store now on Regent Street, the brand also operates in 12 other countries with 182 shops.