It wasn't just the spectacular fireworks that helped Thursday night's big Christmas lights switch-on in Manchester go with a bang. Mancunian pop pin-up Shayne Ward added some extra star voltage to the 10,000 glittering bulbs around the city. He was given the honour of flicking the switch and then treated a 15,000-strong crowd to three tracks from his new album Breathless.
Shayne was following in the footsteps of another X Factor winner, Leona Lewis, who turned on the Oxford Street illuminations on Wednesday. He was joined at the evening event by Coronation Street's Tina O'Brien, who turned up in her Cinderella panto costume.
The 24-year-old actress, who has played Sarah-Louise Platt for the past eight years, films her final scenes in Weatherfield this month and her first job away from the street will be the pantomime at Manchester's Opera House.
Also on hand to entertain the crowds was Chesney Hawkes. The Eighties pop icon is also set to take part in the city's upcoming panto season, starring alongside Darren Day and former Emmerdale actress Stephanie Dooley in Dick Whittington.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
