Tesco has officially kicked off the festive season with its Christmas 2026 advert, a three-minute film built around rekindled friendship. Comedian Roisin Conaty stars as Polly, a Tesco delivery driver who finds herself on an unexpected journey, while Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin plays Lizzie, an old school friend of Polly's who faces the possibility of a festive fiasco.

The film is soundtracked by The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and its story sits within Tesco's Need Anything From Tesco campaign, which launched earlier this year. Suzanne Quinn, Tesco's UK Customer Director, said the advert shows the retailer turning up with plenty of extra little helps to deliver customers their very best Christmas, a line that frames the film as a service message as much as a seasonal story.

When to watch it

The advert makes its television debut tonight, 1 November, on ITV during Who Wants to be a Millionaire, with a 60-second edit of the film set to air alongside the full three-minute version. The launch timing is deliberate: the start of November is when the major grocers traditionally stake their claim on the Christmas shop, and a delivery driver as hero puts Tesco's online and delivery operation at the centre of its festive pitch.

Whether the film brings a tear to the eye is a matter for viewers, but the casting is the talking point: Conaty, also known as host of Last One Laughing, carries a warm, comic presence that suits a story about old friends reconnecting at the busiest time of year. The full film is the one to judge; the television edit is only a minute of it.