John Lewis has released its much-awaited Christmas advert – with a Venus flytrap in a starring role.
The advert – called Snapper, The Perfect Tree – follows a young boy as he lovingly nurtures a seed bought at a local market, thinking he is growing a Christmas tree.
But the outcome is more Little Shop Of Horrors than evergreen fir.
The fast-growing plant is soon snapping at the dog and gobbling decorations – until his antics go too far and he is dragged out into the cold.
A traditional tree goes up in Snapper’s place as he watches through the window from the frosty garden.
Of course Snapper couldn’t stay cast out forever – and to the rousing soundtrack performed by opera star Andrea Bocelli, the family moves the celebrations outside, ending with the strapline “Let your traditions grow”.
The reaction to the advert was mixed, with a chorus of people on X, formerly Twitter, saying a Venus flytrap wasn’t “very Christmassy”.
“Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like an alien man eating plant,” one viewer said.
But others said the uplifting message hit the right note. “It’s a bit of festive cheer at a time when things are a bit low for people,” one X user said.
Advertisement
John Lewis customer director Charlotte Lock said: “We are a nation that loves the traditions of Christmas – from classic traditions like pantos and putting up the tree to evolving new ones like crafting our own presents and Zoom get-togethers.
“Many of us have our own unique festive traditions and that makes them even more special. The film celebrates themes of family and evolving traditions, and shows that a ‘perfect’ Christmas is finding joy together with loved ones, whatever your traditions.”
Asda brought in Michael Bublé – the man whose voice is synonymous with Christmas – for an ad directed by Taika Waititi.
Sainsbury’s stayed away from high concept and instead focused on its product as a young girl asks over the tannoy what Santa has for Christmas dinner.
And Lidl tied the ad into the launch of its Toy Bank, donating gifts to children, with a cute tale of a raccoon returning a lost toy.
John Lewis has not revealed its budget for its campaign, which is its first with agency Saatchi and Saatchi after a partnership with adam&eveDDB stretching back to 2009. That one created ads featuring Monty The Penguin, The Bear And The Hare and Excitable Edgar.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:30
Excitable Edgar stars in the 2019 John Lewis Christmas ad
The ad’s soundtrack is an original song called Festa – which means celebration – composed for the campaign by Italian electro-pop duo Le Feste Antonacci.
Bocelli said: “I am delighted to take part in this wonderful and unique tradition of Christmas storytelling.”
The soundtrack will be released in longer form as a charity single, with a proportion of the proceeds going to the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures charities, which help young people with experience of the care system and families in need.
Davina McCall has made an “enormous leap forward in the last 24 hours”, her partner has said on her Instagram.
In an update, her partner Michael Douglas, said: “Update folks. Thanks so much to all the well wishers. She really has made an enormous leap forward in the last 24 hours. She is out of ICU She is ‘loving awareness’. Thank you xx Michael.”
Instagram
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
The post also featured a bright pink text image, which said, “massive relief to see some light breaking through,” followed by four heart emojis.
“Thanks for all the good vibes coming in from all angles. Up and up,” it added.
Friends and fellow celebrities were quick to comment on the update, with actress Patsy Palmer writing, “sending healing,” Dame Kelly Holmes commenting “awesome news Michael” and Jools Oliver adding three heart emojis.
Speaking in the short video ahead of her operation, McCall had explained to her followers the benign tumour was around 14mm wide and “needed to come out, because if it grows it would be bad” .
More on Davina Mccall
Related Topics:
She said a surgeon would remove the cyst through the top of her head in a procedure called a craniotomy.
In her video post the former Big Brother host had said she was “in good spirits,” and would be in hospital “for around nine days” following the procedure.
Advertisement
According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are slow-growing and unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
In recent years, McCall has spoken regularly on women’s health and the effects of menopause in a bid to break taboos around the subject. Her 2022 book, Menopausing, won book of the year at the British Book Awards.
The same year, McCall fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that the perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.
Ed Sheeran says Band Aid 40 organisers did not seek his approval to use his vocals in the new version of the charity hit Do They Know It’s Christmas?
The Shape Of You starsaid he would have “respectively declined” any permission, going on to share another post criticising foreign aid in Africa.
The new version of the festive hit blends previous recordings to create an “ultimate” mix from Band Aid 1984 including the voices of George Michael, Sting and Boy George, alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin and the Sugababes, who appeared on the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions in 2004 and 2014.
Sheeran had previously sung on Band Aid 30 alongside One Direction, Sam Smith and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
The 33-year-old singer wrote in an Instagram story: “My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals.
“A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”
Sheeran referenced a post by Ghanaian-English singer, songwriter and rapper Fuse ODG, who worked with him on the track Boa Me.
Fuse ODG said that a decade earlier he “refused” to be part of the Band Aid 30 song as he feels that while the charity helps get “sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment”.
The rapper added: “By showcasing dehumanising imagery, these initiatives fuel pity rather than partnership, discouraging meaningful engagement.
Advertisement
“My mission has been to reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity, and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism.
“Today, the diaspora drives the largest flow of funds back into the continent, not Band Aid or foreign aid proving that Africa’s solutions and progress lies in its own hands.”
Sheeran has also worked with other African artists including Nigerian singers Fireboy DML and Burna Boy.
The original Band Aid single released in 1984 featured artists led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia. It sold a million copies in the first week alone.
For the new version, the singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Ure, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.
Premiering on 25 November, the song will be physically released too on 29 November, with a minimum of £5 donated to the Band Aid Trust when the single is sold on vinyl, a minimum of £1.50 donated when the single is sold on CD, and a minimum 50p donated when the single is digitally downloaded.
Standard Glastonbury Festival tickets for 2025 sold out in less than 40 minutes after organisers adopted a new booking system.
The new system saw Glastonburyhopefuls get “randomly assigned a place in a queue” instead of having to refresh the holding page once they went live.
Organisers said: “Thanks to everyone who bought one and sorry to those who missed out, on a morning when demand was much higher than supply. There will be a resale of any cancelled or returned tickets in spring 2025.”
Earlier in the week coach tickets sold out within half an hour for the famous festival in Somerset, which is set to take place between 25 and 29 June next year.
Tickets for the annual event at Worthy Farm sold quicker this year than last year when it took around an hour for all of them to go.
They cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee this year, up £18.50 from the price last year, and were sold exclusively through the See Tickets website.
Fans were left outraged after spending hours queueing for tickets only to find some had more than doubled in price from around £148 to £355.
Advertisement
The band’s long-awaited reunion has led to much speculation that Noel and Liam Gallagher will headline Glastonbury, but they denied this while their tickets were up for sale.
“Despite media speculation, Oasis will not be playing Glastonbury 2025 or any other festivals next year,” they said in a statement. “The only way to see the band perform will be on their Oasis Live ’25 World Tour.”
The headliners this summer on the iconic Pyramid Stage were Dua Lipa, SZA and Coldplay, who made history as the first act to headline the festival five times.
2026 is likely to be a year off for Glastonbury, with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.