- Christmas
- 4th Nov 2026
- 0
- 0 minute
John Lewis Christmas advert spotlights North Shields stars – Sam Fender, local choir and jewellery brand
This year’s John Lewis Christmas advert has a North East accent you can’t miss, and North Shields is all over it.
Sam Fender has provided the soundtrack with help from pupils at his old school, while local brand TUTTI’s jewellery takes pride of place in the very first scene.
It’s the retailer’s 20th festive advert, Gloria and Pickles, and it stars Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as a grandmother stuck for gift ideas. For a region that’s always punched above its weight creatively, it’s quite the early Christmas present.
A NECKLACE, A BANGLE AND A VERY BIG SURPRISE
When Dame Kristin opens the door in the advert’s opening scene, she’s wearing a TUTTI necklace and bangle. TUTTI jewellery is stocked in every John Lewis store and online, but the team had no idea it had landed a starring role until the advert aired.
Founder and creative director Kate Rose broke the news to her team at their North Shields base on Monday morning, and it sounds like it’s a day they won’t forget.
AS SEEN IN THE ADVERT
FROM HARBOUR HOUSE TO 150 STOCKISTS
TUTTI’s Concept Store and Studio sit in Harbour House in North Shields, and the brand’s new womenswear collection is also on the rails at Fenwick Newcastle and Raby Castle.
If you’re after the jewellery Dame Kristin’s wearing, you’ll find it on the TUTTI website, at John Lewis online, in Fenwick, and in 150 independent retailers across the country. Expect a few more people asking about it this week.
SAM FENDER GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
Completing the North East line-up, Sam Fender’s recorded a new version of The Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want for the advert. He’s brought in a choir of current pupils from John Spence Community High School in North Shields, his old school, along with a brass section from Easington Colliery Band.
The pupils’ voices are the first you hear on both the track and the advert, which isn’t a bad debut. They had just a day to rehearse and weren’t even told what the recording was for.
It all came about thanks to a chance meeting over the summer holidays between Sam and his old music teacher Damien Grazzer, head of music at John Spence, who’s worked at the school for more than 20 years. Sam turned up towards the end of the recording session and, according to the BBC, got emotional reflecting on his own time there.
Damien said the invitation was a “real shock”, but that it was an “amazing experience” for the children involved. Not a bad story to take back to the classroom.
It was a privilege to rework such an iconic song by such a legendary band. In the spirit of Christmas, we re-recorded the children’s choir with the kids from my old school, John Spence Community High School, and we arranged a brass section with the Easington Colliery Band.”
A FAMILIAR BRASS SECTION AND A NOD FROM MICK
Easington Colliery Band aren’t new to Sam’s world. They featured on Remember My Name from his Mercury Prize-winning 2025 album People Watching and joined him on stage during last year’s stadium tour.
Sharing a Polaroid from the session on Instagram, the band said: “We’ve been dying to share this picture. What an incredible experience it was recording the new John Lewis advert with Sam Fender.”
Principal cornet player Dan Robson said the hardest part was keeping the collaboration quiet, with no telling anyone until the advert went out.
The cover’s even got the seal of approval from the man who sang it first.
“I’m a fan of Sam’s work, so I was pleased to hear he was covering one of my songs. I think he’s done a great job with it.”
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger
Praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
WHO ARE GLORIA AND PICKLES?
Gloria and Pickles follows Dame Kristin’s character, Gloria, as she welcomes her grandchildren for Christmas and struggles to find presents they’ll actually love. Just as she’s about to settle for popping money in their cards, her childhood toy dog Pickles springs to life and talks her out of it.
Voiced by comedian Paul Whitehouse, Pickles takes Gloria on a last-minute shopping trip that leads to a far more imaginative gift. You’ll want the tissues handy.
BUY THE SINGLE AND DO SOME GOOD
Sam’s version is out on seven-inch vinyl and CD, backed with his 2020 cover of Lindisfarne’s Winter Song. It’s the first time that track’s been available in a physical format, so it’s one for the collectors.
Profits from the single will be split between Teenage Cancer Trust and Action for Children. A North East soundtrack, local sparkle on screen, and a good cause behind it all. That’s Christmas sorted.
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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