Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and a pull-along wooden dog voiced by Paul Whitehouse star in this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad about making an effort to find a thoughtful gift.

Dame Kristin, who most recently starred in Slow Horses, plays grandmother Gloria , who welcomes her family into her well-appointed London home on Christmas Eve, only to be disheartened by her two young grandchildren Freddie and Maggie messing up her immaculate study in a quest to relieve their boredom.

A still from the 2026 John Lewis Christmas ad. (JohnLewis/PA)

Set to a Sam Fender cover of You Can’t Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones, Gloria retrieves her old toy dog Pickles – a vintage pull-along Little Snoopy from the attic to keep them entertained, to no avail.

Pickles springs to life, berating Gloria – who has lost confidence in buying her grandchildren a gift they will appreciate – for her lack of effort, telling her: “You can do better than cash.”

Pickles drags Gloria out of the house on a last-minute gift…