It's Chriiiiistmaaaaas! Blue Peter

It's the Blue Peter Christmas special,

so we are going to be turning up the Christmas spirit to the max.

Get ready, people!

-We've got a 250-strong choir.

-More Christmas!

-OK.

Boogie Storm are going to be dancing to some festive classics.

-More Christmas!

-We've got Tom Fletcher here.

-More Christmas!

-OK.

And we've lit the final candle on our advent crown. How's that?

-Too much Christmas!

-Ahh!

CRASH

CHEERING

# Snow is falling

# All around me

# Children playing

# Having fun

# It's the season for love and understanding

# Merry Christmas, everyone... #

RECORD SCRATCHES

# I don't want a lot for Christmas

# There is just one thing I need

# And I don't care about the presents

# Underneath the Christmas tree... #

RECORD SCRATCHES

# The time is now the place is here

# And the whole wide world is filled with cheer

# My name's DMC with the mic in my hand

# I'm chilling and cooling just like a snowman

# So open your eyes, lend us a ear

# We want to say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"! #

RECORD SCRATCHES

# Oh, don't leave me alone like this

# Don't you say it's the final kiss

# Won't you stay another day?

# Stay now, stay now, stay now... #

RECORD SCRATCHES

# Step into Christmas let's join together

# We can watch the snow fall forever and ever

# Eat, drink and be merry

# Come along with me

# Step into Christmas

# The admission's free... #

RECORD SCRATCHES

# So here it is, Merry Christmas

# Everybody's having fun

# Look to the future now

# It's only just begun. #

CHEERING

-Yay!

-Aw, how good is that?!

And THAT is how you kick off a Christmas special.

Give it up for Boogie Stars!

CHEERING

Thanks so much.

And the festive force is still strong on today's show.

Here's what's coming up.

There's loads on today's show,

and we decorate a VERY special Christmas tree indeed.

Yes, that's the Prime Minister.

Yes, it happened.

We make a special delivery

to the winner of our Worst Witch competition.

-I'm dressed as Santa!

-You are!

Look at your little tiptoes.

And we get some VIP guests to the BP studio. Yeah, that also happened.

It's been a big week, hasn't it, Rads?

-It really has. But Linds...

-Yeah.

-..we're on the studio floor.

Blue Peter, make some noise!

SCREAMING

These guys are going crazy because we are having a Christmas party,

and if I come this way, we've got some very special guests.

-Hello, Rhys.

-Hello, Lindsey.

-I can barely hear you, everyone's so excited.

-I know, it's my team.

-Are you excited for today?

-Oh, so excited! Definitely.

-What are you looking forward to?

-Singing with the choir!

Ah! It's going to be good. Have we warmed up our voices?

-Yes, we have. Guys, are we ready?

-So let's hear a note.

-3, 2, 1...

ALL: Ahhh!

-OK.

-There we go.

-You guys were great.

-Good.

Rhys, maybe mime later. I love you, but mime. Radz?

Linds, I'm with Tyler and Ben.

What's Christmas got in store for you?

Well, we have a Jamie Johnson exclusive,

-which is very, very exciting.

-And the 12 footy facts of Christmas.

Which sounds like a song.

# 12 footy facts of Christmas! #

I will be watching, gents. Linds?

I've got some very special guests.

Look who's here, guys, it's Callum and Iggy.

CHEERING

Callum, thank you so much for coming in today. Iggy is wagging her tail.

Will she be on Christmas? Have you got her a present?

-I can't let her hear it.

-Oh, can't let her hear, OK.

She's got a load of squeaky toys.

OK, squeaky toys, it's going to be a surprise. We love it.

Happy Christmas, Iggs. We're expecting one more guest.

He doesn't need an introduction, he's so great,

but he's getting one anyway. Watch this.

CHEERING

Yeah!

Here he comes, Tom Fletcher is here.

-Come on over, Tom.

-Hi.

-Come and join Callum and Iggy.

-You've met them backstage.

-Yes, we've been hanging out.

-How are you doing?

-We're great, how are you?

Because you must love this time of year, don't you?

I love Christmas more than anyone, apart from maybe Santa.

-There's Santa, then me.

-So, what have you been up to?

-Because you are a busy man, aren't you?

-I am, yeah.

Well, I've written a Christmas book called The Christmasaurus

and we're actually putting it on as a live stage show in London

this Christmas, starting next week, and I'm in it,

my wife's in it, my sister's in it, my bandmates from McFly

and Busted are in it, and Santa himself is in the show.

-No, Santa makes an appearance?

-Santa is there,

-singing some Christmas songs with a flying dinosaur.

-What?

-That sounds amazing.

-Nothing says Christmas like a flying dinosaur.

Thanks for coming in today. You're also singing for us,

and there is a web chat after the show, as well,

so if you want to get to Fan Club Live, make sure you do it.

-You could ask Tom anything.

-Whatever you want.

Whatever you want - but make it about Christmas, cos that's fun

and you'll love it.

We've had so many fab guests in the studio today,

but just last week, we had two VIPs.

And when I see VIPs, I mean it. Check this out.

Last week, Blue Peter was visited by royalty.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

were given a tour of our home in Salford.

Your Royal Highness, nice to meet you, welcome to Blue Peter Studio.

After meeting a few of the team,

they got to see some of your incredible post.

And they loved it.

It's so creative, isn't it? All the different sort of ideas.

-There's some really good drawings, as well.

-Yeah.

They even met some fans of the show.

Mandy here.

-And what are these ones here?

-These are sport badges.

-From each year.

-Wow.

So you are really committed, aren't you?

It was such an honour to meet the Duke and Duchess.

-Did you ever get a Blue Peter badge?

-No, never.

-I don't think I did.

I should have, I should have entered.

And we wanted to recognise their work for a very important cause.

We'd like to give you a gift,

which is the most special gift that we have,

and it's for doing something very special,

and that special thing is mental health.

I think you guys have inspired so many people,

so many children across the country to be able to speak their minds,

but also to know that they are going to be listened to

and that that's OK.

So, on behalf of everyone here on Blue Peter,

we'd actually like to award you with our highest accolade.

It is the gold Blue Peter badge, for your Royal Highnesses.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very, very much.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you so much.

-That's very kind.

-Congratulations.

Wow, that's amazing, thank you. So we have won a badge!

Yes!

It's hugely special, thank you so much -

and obviously mental health has been sort of a learning process for us,

too, and that's really why we are trying to get everyone

talking about it, so it hasn't got the stigma that it has had.

We've still got a long way to go yet but we are getting there.

The momentum is changing, the shift is happening,

which is really good, and we have hopefully cracked a problem

that should have been cracked a long time ago.

There is somebody else you might know with one of those,

it might be your grandmother.

Oh, really? We'll compare.

-We've got a lot more work to do, I think.

-Absolutely.

But thank you so much, it's a real honour.

Thank you for coming into the Blue Peter Studio.

-Thank you so much.

-A round of applause.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess on their BP Gold badge.

Now, another rare badge is this, the Blue Peter orange badge.

You get one of these for entering a Blue Peter competition,

which over 9,000 of you have done

with our brand-new Worst Witch competition,

where you stood to win all of this here. Look at it!

Oh, it's all gone.

For a very good reason, people, because I have already delivered it.

I've come to surprise the winner in person, who, by the way,

has no idea that I'm here.

Luckily, I have the perfect disguise for this time of year.

Father Christmas would have been better, mate.

Father Christmas would have been better.

Thankfully, I've got that with me, too.

Anyway, our winner thinks this is just a normal day at school,

so as the pupils head into assembly,

I use all my stealth to get into position for the surprise.

-HE WHISPERS:

-The winner of our competition

is just inside this door.

I'm going to surprise her with the prizes. Let's go.

Ho, ho, ho! Ho, ho, ho!

THEY SING

Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, everybody!

Are we all good?

ALL: Yes!

Who here thinks I'm the real Father Christmas?

Oh, you are so kind - but I'm not, you know.

My name is Radzi and I work on a show called Blue Peter.

We held a competition and the winner is in this school.

Can we give a big, massive round of applause to Poppy?

CHEERING

Come on in, Poppy!

Here she comes.

Poppy, high five.

You are the winner of the Blue Peter Worst Witch competition

and you get a very special Blue Peter badge, the orange badge.

So can we have one big,

massive round of applause once again for Poppy?

-Here you go.

-CHEERING

Well done.

And Poppy will also be taking home loads of Worst Witch goodies

that I picked up from the set.

What do you love most about the worst witch?

I like Maud and I think I look like her

because of the way I have my hair and the glasses.

So this is the actual broomstick from the Worst Witch.

It is yours.

-It's very heavy.

-It is, isn't it?

But the broom is just the start of Poppy's prizes.

Poppy, have you ever entered a Blue Peter competition before?

No, only this one.

Just this one, which is exactly why you should always apply.

Because you never know,

I might arrive at your school to congratulate you as the next winner

of our brand-new Blue Peter competition.

A lovely school - and what a worthy winner she was indeed.

Please make sure you watch The Worst Witch in the new year

-on CBBC, right there beneath us.

-That's a very clever of you.

Earlier, you saw what the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

made of your post.

Quite frankly, they loved it.

So some other people might love it.

Look who's lining up, all of our guests today at our Christmas party.

Linds, we're going to do it really quick

-cos I've got this glittery haily thing.

-OK.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-I'm going to start on my left.

Three, two, one, Callum! What have you got?

Ffion from Hertfordshire has made this fantastic pom-pom wreath.

Tom, talk to me.

Emily from Skegness gets a silver Blue Peter badge

because she has made an advent calendar with real presents in.

-Incredible.

-And behind door number 24 is the golden...

-You can keep that, Tom Fletcher.

-I'm going to keep that.

-Next, Linds.

-Who's next? Come on.

James from Lancashire has Shelley dressed as Father Christmas.

-Classic. Off you go.

-Next!

Well, Eden from Aberdeen has drawn Radzi, Shelley and Mildred

-outside Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches.

-That was fast!

-That was so fast.

-Isla from Cambridge has a hedgehog home

-for the Blue Peter garden. How cool is that?

-It's very cool.

Bye, Ben, I love you. Santa, good of you to show up.

Ava-Grace has made that wonderful Christmas card

with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on it. Very well done to you.

HONK!

-I love you so much.

-That's all we've got time for.

That is all we've got time for.

Keep your post coming to the usual address.

-We love receiving it, don't we, Santa?

-We certainly do.

-Because...

# You may earn a badge

# That can get you into 200 attractions

# Across the UK for free. #

I love you. Something else that I love is the Blue Peter website.

Check out what's on it. Thanks, Santa.

Yeah!

Happy dance, happy days.

Do you see yourself in these pictures?

Yes, in the statue. Right here.

Right here on the beach. Right here behind the lady.

Oh, man!

That was tough. That was very fun, though.

-Linds, John Cena just did the happy dance.

-Do it again.

OK, now it's time for something very special -

a song so heart-warming, so festive it could melt a snowman, officially.

It's Tom Fletcher with the amazing I Ho, Ho, Hope It's Santa!

Ho, ho, ho!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here we go!

# I heard a noise on the rooftop

# It made my heart go jump

# The stomp of boots

# And the clomp of hooves

# Went clippety, clippety, clump!

# Oh, I heard a noise on the rooftop

# I wonder what it was

# I really ho, ho, hope it's Santa Claus

# Oh, I heard a noise on the rooftop

# It sounded like a sleigh

# I went to bed on Christmas Eve

# And now it's Christmas Day

# Oh, I heard a noise on the rooftop

# I wonder what it was

# I really ho, ho, hope it's Santa Claus

# All the sleigh bells that go jingle

# Are making that jingle noise

# And the man they call Kris Kringle

# He's bringing us lots of toys

# Oh, I heard a noise on the rooftop

# Now I can't sleep because

# I really ho, ho, hope it's Santa Claus... #

Let's go, boys!

# All the sleigh bells that go jingle

# Are making that jingle noise

# And the man they call Kris Kringle

# He's bringing us lots of toys

# Oh, I heard a noise on the rooftop

# Now I can't sleep because

# I really ho, ho, hope it's Santa Claus

# Yeah

# I heard a noise on the rooftop

# Now I can't sleep because

# I really ho, ho, hope it's Santa

# Ho, ho, ho, ho, hope it's Santa

# Really ho, ho, hope it's Santa Claus! #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That was so good!

That is what you call smashing it out of the park.

-Who here feels really Christmassy?

-Me! Do you feel Christmassy?

Yes, good. We actually did the same for the Prime Minister.

Don't believe us? Check this out.

Farmers have travelled from the furthest corners of the UK.

It's been a decade growing the perfect specimen -

and no, I'm not talking about giant vegetables,

I'm talking about Christmas trees.

And not just any old tree - oh, no, the most high-profile

and iconic tree in the country.

I'm talking about the tree outside one of the most

important addresses anywhere.

That's right, Number Ten Downing Street,

the home of the Prime Minister.

It's a tree seen by people all over the world,

and the journey to get there starts in Yorkshire,

where the country's best growers gather

to be awarded the honour of growing the Downing Street tree.

It's a bit like The X Factor, but with trees.

I'm meeting one of the organisers, Martin,

and I have come dressed for the occasion.

-Hello, Martin.

-Hello, Lindsey.

-I'm ready.

-For what?

-Decorating the tree.

-Whoa, whoa - too early, Lindsey.

-The trees have a long, long way to go yet.

-Right.

-Shall I go get changed?

-I think you ought to. Don't rush.

OK. I feel a bit silly.

-Sorry about that, a bit embarrassed.

-No problem.

Anyway, how do you grow one of these little beauties?

You start with a little sapling like that, at three years old...

Hang on a minute, this kind of twig, that took three years?

Three years from a seed, yes, to get to that size.

-It's not a fast process, is it?

-It's very slow, no.

It will take eight years to get from that

-to the tree that you will get in your house.

-Eight years.

Eight years, it's a long process.

I had no idea the process was quite that long -

and what do you think makes the perfect tree?

What shall I be looking out for today?

It depends what you like, we all like different things,

but I personally like a nice, full Christmas tree.

We've also got the colour of the tree

and fragrance of the tree as well.

The competition has been running since 1982.

Those on display aren't the actual trees

that will go to Downing Street,

but they demonstrate the farmers' growing skills.

Everyone here gets a voting slip and on that, they pick which tree

they think is the best in each variety,

and then after that, they pick which tree they think is best overall.

And because I'm here today, I get to vote, too.

Strong pine, very good.

Yeah, this one's spruced up nicely.

Yeah, I think it's clear I don't know my Nordmann Fir

from my Norway Spruce.

In fact, I don't even know what those words mean.

Thankfully, Jack here knows a thing or two and he'll also be voting.

-Hey, Jack, how are you?

-No looking at my sheet.

OK, no, you're right, I won't look at your voting slip.

-You've been voting hard, haven't you?

-Yes.

So, have you entered any trees today?

-Yeah, I'm here with my uncle, and he's entered five trees.

-Five?

-So you have got quite good chances of winning, I reckon.

-Yeah.

What are you looking for in the trees today?

-A nice shape of the trees and nice colour.

-Listen, good luck.

You don't need it, but good luck. High five.

Right, shape and colour.

This is tough - but I finally make up my mind.

The votes are in and it's time to announce the winner.

The winner of grower of the year is...

Rob Morgan of Grower Fresh Christmas Trees.

CHEERING

Congratulations, Rob.

He will now get to pick the Prime Minister's tree

from his farm in South Wales.

A bit taken aback, to be honest.

I knew it was a nice tree, but as you can see,

the quality of the trees in there is amazing -

but to get the top spot is such an honour.

Come on, we're not going to miss the moment he picks THE tree,

so a few weeks later,

we join Rob and his son Lloyd for the big moment.

It's exciting times on the farm today.

We've got to cut down the Christmas tree for Number Ten.

I planted it on a bit of a whim, not knowing what to do, really,

and as we're growing Christmas trees now we're surrounded by them and,

yeah, it's probably about a 20-year-old tree

and a fitting tribute to its life as a Christmas tree, to be honest.

MOTOR ROARS

Timber!

That's what you shout, isn't it?

It's now time to move this beauty to London.

Downing Street, is it, Linds?

Probably best if I take it from here.

Typical.

That door is Number Ten, this is Downing Street

and the tree is finally here.

It's lying down there but we're soon going to get it stood up.

You don't need me to tell you that the next job is to decorate it.

This 18-footer takes 1,500 lights

and more than 300 decorations,

and I get to hang a very special one -

but I've got another job.

Do you know, one of my favourite things about working on Blue Peter

is we get to see things you quite frankly wouldn't see anywhere else.

The official Christmas wreath

on the Number Ten Downing Street door.

What an honour.

So, Christmas decorations done,

next stop, turn on the Christmas lights.

Great work, Radz. Finally, it's the day of the switch-on.

The world's press are here and we're not missing this.

Time to hand over to the Prime Minister herself, Theresa May.

Hello, everybody, it's great to see you all here

as we are ready to turn on the Christmas tree lights

here in Downing Street once again.

Three, two, one...

CHEERING

Who would have thought the journey to get this tree here

started months ago and nearly 200 miles away?

And Blue Peter brought you all of it.

What an amazing achievement by Rob to get his tree here

outside Number Ten, and for us to be just a little part of that,

it's been absolutely amazing. I feel really festive.

Linds, Christmas is properly here.

What an unforgettable day that was -

but as much a part of any Blue Peter Christmas

as a Christmas tree decoration is this, our wooden nativity scene.

It's been with Blue Peter for over 50 years.

Now, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus,

who Christians like myself believe to be the son of God.

But to help finish the setting, I've got three helpers.

Katie, it's over to you.

Here are Mary and Joseph,

-who were staying in the stable with all the other animals.

-Thank you.

-Alex, over to you.

-The shepherds who followed the Star of Bethlehem.

And Lainey.

And here are the three wise men who came later,

bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

And last but by no means least,

the most important person of them all,

baby Jesus lying in his manger.

From all of us here at Blue Peter, whatever you're doing for Christmas,

we wish you all a very...

-ALL:

-Merry Christmas!

Guys, that was beautiful. I feel really festive, that was lovely.

And of course, it's been an amazing year here on Blue Peter.

It's about to get even better in 2018. Check this out.

Coming up in 2018...

This is indoor surfing!

Check this out!

Come on!

Oh, I don't want to look down. We're not going out over there.

-That's where we're going.

-No, stop it. What?

Freestyle snowboarding.

Ho-ho!

Did you see that?

We're here for BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.

High five!

Oh, my goodness, this is unbelievable.

Yeah!

-Wow.

-Bring it on!

CHEERING

2018 will be the best year ever.

That is going to be so good -

but now it's time for one of our favourite moments of the year.

It's time for a Christmas carol.

We're going to sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

We've got a lot of help here

and we hope you'll sing along at home, as well.

That's right, we're going to be joined by choirs

from Moorlands Junior, Beaver Road,

St Anne's Church of England and of course Old Moat Primary School.

As well as that, Rolls Crescent, Broadfields,

Wilbraham Primary Schools, and the choir from the Lancasterian School.

And they are going to be joined by members

of the BBC North staff choir with a musical accompaniment,

which you can hear, from the Central North Salvation Army band.

Cannot wait. Here they come now.

# Hark the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King!

# Peace on earth and mercy mild

# God and sinners reconciled

# Joyful, all ye nations rise

# Join the triumph of the skies

# With the angelic host proclaim

# Christ is born in Bethlehem

# Hark the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King!

# Christ by highest heaven adored

# Christ the everlasting Lord

# Late in time behold him come

# Offspring of the virgin's womb

# Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see

# Hail the incarnate deity

# Pleased as man with men to dwell

# Jesus, our Emmanuel

# Hark the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King! #

We're going to do the next verse in just a minute,

but first, we'd like to wish you all

a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

Be sure not to miss Blue Peter on 28th December,

which is all about the highlights of 2017.

Then, on the 4th of January,

it's a special about my free fall challenge,

when I skydived out of a plane.

You'll see that from start to finish.

We are going to be live again on Thursday the 11th of January,

so make sure you're watching -

and over the Christmas holidays,

do head to the Blue Peter website. It's amazing.

There's loads there to make, do and watch, so get involved.

As well as that, after this, head to the BP Fan Club Live

to chat all things Christmas with Tom Fletcher.

Don't miss out.

So, on behalf of Blue Peter, every single person in the studio,

we'd like to wish every single one of you at home a very...

-ALL:

-Merry Christmas!

-It's snowing!

-Look at that!

# Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace

# Hail the Son of Righteousness

# Light and life to all he brings

# Risen with healing in his wings

# Mild he lays his glory by

# Born that man no more may die

# Born to raise the sons of earth

# Born to give them second birth

# Hark the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King! #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE