The 2026 John Lewis Christmas advert premieres today, featuring a cover of The Rolling Stones' classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want" performed by 2025 Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender.
The ad airs on John Lewis social channels, including YouTube and Instagram, at 7.30am today (November 3), before running on ITV and Channel 4 between 8pm and 9.15pm tonight. The festive spot tells a story about rediscovering the joy in gifting, with the tagline "Don't give up on giving."
Cover Tradition Continues
John Lewis has a history of featuring well-known songs covered by popular singers in its Christmas adverts. In 2013, Lily Allen covered Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know," and in 2021, Lola Young covered "Together in Electric Dreams" by Philip Oakley and Giorgio Moroder.
This year, Sam Fender takes on The Rolling Stones' hit. Fender said: "It was a privilege to rework such an iconic song by such a legendary band." He added: "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."
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger said: "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."
Charity Single and Cast
Proceeds from the sale of the single, backed with Fender's 2020 cover of "Winter Song," will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity selected by the artist, and Action for Children, John Lewis's charity partner for its Building Happier Futures programme.
The advert stars English actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and a pull-along wooden dog called Pickles, voiced by Paul Whitehouse. Dame Kristin, who most recently starred in Slow Horses, plays grandmother Gloria, who welcomes her family into her London home on Christmas Eve, only to be disheartened by her grandchildren Freddie and Maggie messing up her study.
Pickles springs to life, berating Gloria for her lack of effort, telling her: "You can do better than cash." Pickles drags Gloria on a last-minute gift mission, flying through the streets of London by tuk-tuk to John Lewis.
Christmas Morning Reveal
On Christmas morning, Freddie and Maggie find their Christmas cards empty of expected cash but are handed a key by Gloria, which opens the door to her study transformed into a "Gran Cave" with sparkling lights, disco balls and a turntable for playing music and dancing together.
