A real Hoot

Our Mark joins the stars to see in 2026 early at dazzling studio

- BY MARK JEFFERIES Showbiz Editor

It's 8.47pm and I've only had two bottles of beer but I am on my feet singing and dancing along without a care in the world.

Others are arm-in-arm or hugging, and a few people look a bit teary. In this make-believe world I have entered, it's New Year's Eve and it's midnight.

I celebrated 2026 before all of you, thanks to Jools Holland and a magical night in a dazzling West London TV studio on December 10.

Jools Holland's Hootenanny is as much part of the festive calendar as soaps and the monarch's Christmas Day speech. For more than 30 years, Jools has brought in the new year for millions.

Comedian Peter Kay even wrote about it in his latest book, saying that his mum still thinks it is live.

My big question before going to Versa Studios was how do they create the party atmosphere (which, it turns out, is as authentic as it looks on TV)?

Guests are offered drinks at a free bar (rare for the BBC) and take their seats. Later, they are given glasses of prosecco to help celebrate "midnight" - about 30 minutes after the music starts.

Jools asks us to be quiet when the artists sing and cheer as loud as possible at the end. "If you feel the urge to dance and physically move, that is marvellous. Everyone is looking very beautiful and we've some incredible musical guests."

This year's bill includes Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Olivia Dean, Craig David, Lulu, Jessie J, The Kooks, Heather Small, Olivia Imelda May and the 1st Battalion Scots Guards.