Emmerdale star to switch on Christmas lights

The actor, who plays Adam Barton in Emmerdale and who also finished third in last year’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here show on ITV, will be joined on stage by Hartlepool Mayor Councillor Paul Beck.

The Hartlepool Borough Council-organised event, which will also feature a range of musical entertainment, will be held outside the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool.

The big switch-on itself will be at 6pm, while a programme of entertainment will run from 4-7pm.

Adam Thomas

Adam Thomas continues a fine tradition of TV celebrities turning on Hartlepool’s Christmas lights with Jack P Shepherd (David Platt in Coronation Street), Samia Ghadie (Maria Connor from Coronation Street) and Joey Essex (The Only Way is Essex) having all visited the town in recent years.

Councillor Beck said: “I’m really looking forward to meeting Adam and giving him a warm Hartlepool welcome.

“The switch-on of the town’s Christmas lights is a fantastic occasion and I hope that people turn out in force to join in the festive fun.”

The event will be compered by Neil Green and Amy Oakden from BBC Tees.

From 4-6pm, entertainment will be provided by the Hartlepool Special Needs Support Group, BTEC Performing Arts students from Hartlepool Sixth Form College, Choral Interlude, Miss Toni’s Academy , Sparkle and Channy Thompson.

Following the Christmas lights switch-on, Shanaya Atkinson-Jones, a contestant in this year’s X Factor, will take to the stage. Since Simon Cowell told her: “You’re everything we have been looking for”, her first audition has been viewed over 2.5 million times on YouTube. She has since released her debut single “Say Something” and is currently working on her debut EP fusing big diva vocals with today’s high energy beats. It is due to be released next year. Shanaya will be singing everything from Beyonce to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

The entertainment will conclude with a performance by two members of North Road, normally an acoustic trio from Durham City. Its members – Jack, Charlie and Josh – formed the band in 2012 after studying for a diploma in music at New College Durham. The band won the Big Audition competition in 2013.