Re-watch the best John Lewis Christmas ads as anticipation grows ahead of this year's offering

The arrival of the much-hyped John Lewis ad now heralds the start of each year's festive season and rumours have already emerged regarding John Lewis' 2018 Christmas ad, with The Mail on Sunday reporting that Elton John has been paid £5million to star in the campaign, singing Your Song.

However, John Lewis says that, unfortunately, there is little foundation to the claims, describing the reports as nothing more than "speculation". A spokersperson told Harper's Bazaar: "We are lucky enough to enjoy lots of speculation around our TV ads, much of which is inaccurate, and our one rule is to never comment on any aspect simply because we want to keep the magic."

The track Your Song is also unlikely to feature this year as it has already appeared in the brand's 2010 festive advert, performed by Ellie Goulding.

But there's not doubting that the John Lewis ad has now engrained itself in the nation's psyche, with recent years serving up some memorable TV moments featuring hearty amounts of tear-jerking sentimentality.

For example, 2015's Man on the Moon tapped into the gut-wrenching emotion of being lonely at Christmas, while, in contrast 2014's Monty the Penguin was about falling in love at Christmas and 2013's Hare and the Bear was about festive generosity.

Last year's ad starred a little boy and Moz the Monster, who strike an unlikely friendship in the name of Christmas and featured a cover of The Beatles' Golden Slumbers, performed by the band Elbow.