Words: Kiera Chapman | Subbing: Joanne Clark

Every year, as lights start to wrap their crystal bulbed fingers above and around the streets of London, Boots boasts it’s 3 for 2 deals and a whiff of mulled wine whips your nose as you trench out a muggy Oxford Circus.

However, the ultimate festivities signifier is the first official broadcast of the John Lewis advert.

This year, it’s been reported that a version of Last Christmas will be the soundtrack of the commercial, in honour of the singer George Michael, who passed away last year.

John Lewis’s Christmas alumni include the likes of Gabrielle Aplin, Tom Odell and Vaults, so it’s only natural an incredible amount of anticipation saddles the 2017’s first broadcast, which will be either November 9th (like last year) or 10th. This will mean John Lewis reverting back to tradition and following all the previous before 2016.

From snowmen to actual men, touching on love and loss – the large retail chain never fails to send the entirety of the UK on an emotional rollercoaster, leaving them with the strong urge to purchase an item from the homeware range afterwards in a bid to salvage some sort of sanity.

Rumour has it, John Lewis are steering away from tradition and creating their very own creature altogether this time round. “This year the John Lewis advert will revolve around a big cuddly monster,” a source told OK Magazine.

This can mean anything from The Gruffalo to an out of proportion Basil Brush. Either way, John Lewis will remain very much part of the The Great British Christmas Build Up.