The owners of a Leicester vintage toy shop, have racked up over 130,000 views on their latest Youtube video, where they speak to TV presenter Jonathan Ross about his “epic” and super rare toy collection.
Joe Hand and Gavin Pate, of Leicester Vintage & Old Toy Shop, travelled to London to meet Mr Ross – a well-known toy collecting enthusiast – as part of a special episode of their series ‘Toy Shop on Tour.’
In the ‘Celebrity Collector Special’, which was released on Boxing Day (December 26), the pair visit Mr Ross’ office in Camden, where they were treated to a tour of his rare and extremely extensive toy collection.
The video has secured over 130,000 views so far, in just over a week.
Speaking to the Leicester Times, Joe Hand said that the experience of filming with Ross was a “privilege” – and an “amazing lifetime experience,” which he’ll remember forever.
“His toys were amazing, and he was amazing,” enthused the toy enthusiast, who has been running Leicester Vintage & Old Toy Shop since 2008.
“We thought there would be an entourage, but no, it was just Jonathan – just him being himself, really getting his nerd on and talking about stuff that he loves.
“He made us a lovely cup of coffee, he was very down to earth, very easy to talk to. He spent four and a half hours with us – just really generous with his time and his knowledge. It was a really nice lifetime experience,” he went on to reveal.
“He was so excited to be able to talk toys, to people that perhaps understood it. It was difficult to stop him! He was just on a roll of showing off his collection, which was absolutely epic,” he added.
The episode, which is available on Youtube, is the pair’s most successful to date.
Since its release, subscribers to the Leicester Vintage Toy Shop channel have increased by over 2,500.
The episode was filmed by Matt Holt of Leicester’s Spoon Jar Films, who is described as an “invaluable member” of the toy loving team.
And they’re loving the success of their most recent video, which they’re hoping will help put them on the map.
“We’ve got around 120,000 views at the minute on the Jonathan Ross video, and it was crazy to have that sort of figure in a week, and all the positive comments as well were really nice,” revealed Joe.
“There’s been a real outpouring of love.”
Asked to sum up the experience of filming with Jonathan, Joe said: “It was a privilege to be there and film with him, it really was. There were toys he had that I’d never seen before, and when you’ve seen as many toys as I have, that’s an amazing thing in itself!”
Leicester Vintage & Old Toy Shop can be found on East Bond Street, just behind the Highcross.
To find out more, visit: https://www.leicestervintage.co.uk/
