Trending

The trampolining Boxer dog from the beloved John Lewis Christmas advert has died

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 23rd November 2022

The bouncing Boxer dog from one of John Lewis’ best-loved Christmas adverts has sadly passed away, his owners have revealed.

The four-legged star of the department store’s 2016 Christmas advert titled ‘Buster the Boxer’ – who’s real name was Biff – has sadly passed away at the age of 12, with his owner Jen Patten taking to social media this week to share the sad news.

The heartbroken owner explained that Biff had experienced seizures in the early hours of Monday morning, and they sadly “couldn’t bring him back”.

“Fly high our beautiful, special boy – we shall miss you forever,” Ms Patten wrote.

Biff took on the role of the title character Buster in the popular advert – which many will remember followed the story of a young girl who’s father builds a her a trampoline in the garden on Christmas Eve, only for two foxes, a badger, some squirrels, and a hedgehog to start jumping on it, with Buster watching on longingly through the window from the living room.

ADVERTISEMENT

Then on Christmas Day morning, the girl runs down the stairs and into the garden to find the trampoline, but Buster hijacks the surprise and leaps onto the trampoline to have some fun and do a bit of jumping himself.

The camera then pans onto the family watch in shock as Buster has the absolute time of his life bouncing up and down.

ADVERTISEMENT
The bouncing Boxer dog from one of John Lewis’ best-loved Christmas adverts has sadly passed away / Credit: John Lewis

Speaking to the Daily Mail about the death of beloved pup, Ms Patten said: “Biff was a very much loved family member, and everyone that met him loved him too.

“We had a really special bond, and no matter what I asked of him, whether it would be new tricks, displays, meet and greets, or photos with children, adults, and animals, he would happily oblige, with the patience of a saint.

“At home, he was pure joy, making us smile every day… [and] we shall miss him so much.”

ADVERTISEMENT

As well as John Lewis’ charitable efforts from the advert at the time, with a portion of the soft toy animals sales earnings being donated to The Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Biff’s newfound fame also helped him lend a hand too.

Read more:

“His fame gave us the opportunity to raise funds for animal charities,” Ms Patten concluded.

Featured Image – John Lewis

Trending

Eurovision 2025 final to be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Eurovision 2025 stage

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest is to be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester next month.

Following the success of the previous two years, initially starting back when the internationally renowned televised event was held on British soil in Liverpool in 2023, cinemas up and down the UK are, once again, set to come together to celebrate 2025’s edition of the major night in the music calendar by hosting the ultimate viewing events.

The epic Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final on Saturday 17 May will be broadcast live on BBC One, and streamed into more than 100 cinemas nationwide – including several in Greater Manchester.

Distributed by CinemaLive, the live stream events will allow Eurovision fans to gather under one roof and share in the unbeatable experience of celebrating the brightest and boldest music party of the year on the big screen.

People in the cinema
The Eurovision 2025 final will be screened live in cinemas across Greater Manchester / Credit: CinemaLive | Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)

You may remember that Switzerland is hosting Eurovision this year, following the nation’s well-deserved victory at the 2024 contest with the song ‘The Code’ performed by Nemo.

But thanks to these live stream events, you won’t need to make the trip to Basel to get in on the action, as you’ll just need to nip down to your nearest participating cinema instead.

Not only will the long-awaited final of the show be streamed live onto the big screen in 5.1 surround sound, but fans are invited to bring their Eurovision parties from the front room to the cinema instead, as organisers say fancy dress is ‘heavily encouraged’, as are enthusiastic sing-alongs too.

Speaking ahead of the event next month, John Travers from distributors CinemaLive, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the BBC to bring Eurovision’s grand final live into cinemas across the UK for the third year in a row.

“There’s simply no better way to enjoy the biggest night in music than in a cinema.”

Read more:

Tickets are now live and available to book at your local cinema here.

Some of the participating Greater Manchester cinemas include Vue Manchester Printworks, Everymans in Manchester city centre and Altrincham, The Light in Stockport, and Cineworld in Didsbury, among others.

Featured Image – EBU

Trending

Only 37% Brits claim they use swear words every single day

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Swearing

Whether you can believe it or not, a new survey has revealed that only 37% of Brits reckon they swear every day.

Or maybe you can believe it.

Swearing and using inappropriate language definitely used to be considered far more offensive among generations gone by, but here today in the 21st century, it’s fair to say that curse words encompass a large part of the vocabulary used by a wide range of Brits spanning all ages.

For some, swearing is just another way of expressing yourself, but for others, it’s typically not acceptable.

But while it might be a controversial topic, an interesting new YouGov survey has found that swearing is something we nearly all do – with the majority of Brits (57%) saying they swear on most days, and only 8% claiming to never swear at all.

As many may have predicted, men tend to be more regular swearers than women, with 41% saying they swear every day, compared to just 33% of women, and it was also found that younger Brits are more likely to curse on a regular basis too, with 47% of 18-34 year olds swearing every day, compared to only 19% of over 65s.

Even though lots of people perhaps don’t feel that comfortable using inappropriate language, just a third of Brits (33%) say they have an outright negative view of swearing, and nearly half of the public (48%) have what they would consider to be a ‘neutral attitude’ towards it.

When it comes to view points, YouGov found that there is, yet again, a clear generational shift in attitudes, with older Brits being the most likely to have a negative view of swearing (51%), compared to just 21% of 18-34 year olds.

In fact, 18-34 year olds are actually more likely to have a positive view of swearing (30%) rather than a negative one, the survey found.

Does all of this change given the circumstances though? Do Brits consider it to be generally more acceptable to swear in certain places than others? The survey found that Brits are largely agreed on it being acceptable to swear when you’re in your home by yourself (91%), in response to physical pain (87%), or when you’re with friends in private (86%).

On the flip side, it’s considered unacceptable to swear in a place of worship (91%), while with a customer or client at work (94%), in front of children (95%), or at shopworkers (97%).

There are some instances, though, where the public are more divided, as when it comes to being with your with colleagues at work, nearly half (45%) of survey respondents see swearing as okay, but 53% see it as inappropriate.

Read more:

The survey also looked into Brits’ particular favourite swear words, claiming that ‘most of us, deep-down’ have one we prefer to use most.

For this, it was the good old ‘f-word’ (f**k) that reigned supreme.

Featured Image – Etienne Girardet (via Unpslash)

More Trending

Patrice Evra MMA debut fighter

Sport

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra is set to make his MMA debut very soon

A mix-up saw two tourists spend the day in Rochdale instead of the Peak District

Rochdale

Mix-up leaves tourists bound for Peak District on a day trip to… Rochdale

Travel warning issued ahead of busiest weekend of the year for Manchester Marathon

Boroughs

Travel warning issued as Manchester braces for busiest day of the year so far

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches