Viewers were bowled over by RTE Toy Show star Catriona Kalogeraki who was surprised by Harry Potter star Emma Watson on Friday night's hit show.
Catriona revealed she was a huge Harry Potter fan and demonstrated a wand and fluffy owl toy before host Ryan Tubridy asked about her favourite character Hermione Granger.
Soon Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the movie franchise, appeared on screen in a recorded message for Catriona. The 10-year-old's jaw hit the floor as she became excited to see Watson speaking to her.
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In her message, Emma described Catriona, who has autism, as "an amazing and special young woman" and thanked her for choosing Hermione as her favourite Harry Potter character.
shared a heartfelt message to an inspirational autistic fan, who is a huge fan of Harry Potter.
"I wanted to send you a message to thank you for all you do to spread awareness around Autism and for speaking about it so eloquently and in a way that empowers and educates other young people," Emma Watson said.
She added: "You seem like such an amazing and special young woman. I’ve heard that you can solve a Rubik’s cube in a crazy amount of time. I am sending all the best and a warm hello from London."
Caitriona was clearly delighted to receive such a surprise on air and later shared a speech about her own experience with autism, something that moved some viewers to tears.
She said: "So I have this thing called autism, I don’t think of it as superpower. I think of it as an ability. It’s actually classified as a disability but I think it’s more of an ability.
"I get emotional, I cry a lot at school but it’s also really cool because I get really happy and I love being Autistic.
"I just want to say a message for kids out there, if you are neurodivergent and just feel different, I just want to say that you are so so special and you are amazing."
Viewers were quick to heap praise on the young star.
"Catriona is a star," one said, while another added, "Catríona is so amazing, I cried!!! Neurodivergent kids deserve to know they are awesome!"
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