John Lewis kicks off its multi-million pound Christmas ad campaign featuring Buster the boxer

John Lewis unveiled its much-anticipated 2016 Christmas advert today - and it features a bouncing boxer called Buster.

Set to a cover version of the song ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’, recorded by British band the Vaults, the two-minute commercial tells the story of a little girl called Bridget who loves to jump.

Her mum and dad buy her a trampoline for Christmas and hide it in the garden to surprise her with on Christmas Day.

But after dark, in a magical world seen only by Buster, a host of wildlife animals emerge – two foxes, a badger, a squirrel, and a hedgehog – who discover the trampoline and play with it.

On Christmas morning, Bridget excitedly runs out into the garden to her present as Buster bounds past her and starts bouncing on her trampoline, and she watches in awe.

The advert cost £1 million to make, with a further £6 million being spent on buying TV advertising time to show it.

Craig Inglis, Customer Director at John Lewis said: "2016 has certainly been quite a year, so we hope our advert will make people smile.

"It really embraces a sense of fun and magic, reminding everyone what it feels to give the perfect gift at Christmas.