This Morning presenter Alison Hammond stars as 'the Countess' in this year's Sainsbury's Christmas advert. 

The major supermarket immerses viewers in a medieval fairytale as a young cook tries to impress the formidable Countess with a fresh twist on a classic Christmas pudding.

The light-hearted advert aims to celebrate the innovation and creativity of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Christmas range.

The Christmas clip will premier on Friday, November 4 across ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 from 8.30 pm.

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The ad will kick off Sainsbury's wider Christmas marketing campaign, with further festive treats to follow over the next few weeks.

Set to a medieval instrumental version of Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, the advert opens up into an imaginary medieval world where a festive feast is being planned.

The scene opens with a wide view of a castle surrounded by a forest and mountains.

As a dragon flies across the screen, a voiceover from the one and only Stephen Fry proclaims: “In a far, far away land, a feast was being planned”.

Cutting to a crowded room, a line of chefs patiently wait to present their offerings for the festive feast to The Countess.

Viewers will see an adornment of Christmas treats that are happily received, from Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Crab Thermidor Crumpets to Cider Glazed Gammon.

However, when a nervous young cook offers a traditional Christmas pudding, the Countess turns the dessert away in disgust.

The chef works day and night on a new dish, he mixes ingredients and even steals an enormous biscuit from a disgruntled giant to please her.

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After a forkful and anxiety-building pause, The Countess asks, “Is that caramelised biscuit?”.

She then proclaims, “Mmm…that’s a bit of me” and breaks into laughter as the whole room descends into cheer and applause.

Speaking about the advert, Alison Hammond said: “I absolutely loved playing The Countess in this year’s Sainsbury’s Christmas advert. It got me feeling all festive and was such a laugh!

“The Taste the Difference Caramelised Biscuit Christmas Pudding was absolutely a bit of me and will definitely make an appearance on our table this year. Just not sure if I can wait until Christmas day to try it again!"

Watch Alison Hammond in Sainsbury's Christmas advert 2022

Laura Boothby, Head of Campaigns, at Sainsbury’s said: “Food plays a central role in any celebration, and we wanted to bring to life the imagination and innovation that goes into creating our Taste the Difference Christmas range. We also wanted the ad to provide some fun and light-hearted Christmas cheer and who better to do that than Alison Hammond.

“The festive feast is a quintessential Christmas moment for many and the perfect setting to celebrate what Sainsbury’s does best: delicious, quality, great value food. We’re always creating and developing new recipes and Christmas is the perfect time to experiment with new twists on traditional flavours.

“We’ve focused on the Christmas pudding specifically because we know it’s divisive – people love it, or they hate it – and that’s why we’ve created the Taste the Difference Caramelised Biscuit Pudding. Pudding lovers can still opt for the traditional dessert, but those who aren’t fans can try our innovative take on the Christmas classic instead.”