Tesco Christmas advert 2026: Roisin Conaty and Anna Maxwell Martin reunite in The Wrong Address

Tesco has gone back to a single hero film for Christmas. The Wrong Address, a three-minute story from BBH London, stars Roisin Conaty as Tesco delivery driver Polly and Anna Maxwell Martin as Lizzie, an old school friend she has not seen for decades. It launched on 1 November across social, Tesco.com and Clubcard email, with its first TV spot in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on ITV that evening, as Marketing Week reported.

The work

The plot turns on a very modern slip. Lizzie sends her big Christmas delivery to her old address, the two women arrange to meet halfway, and when Lizzie’s car breaks down Polly drives her home in the van. Much of the film plays out in the cab, where the pair slip back into their friendship over memories of school talent shows and teenage mishaps.

It closes on an embrace and the line “Because this Christmas, Every Little Helps”, with The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic underneath. Steve Rogers directed through Biscuit Filmworks UK x Revolver, with Bradford Young as director of photography, according to the credits Creative Review published. The idea came from associate creative director Pete Ioulianou, who once ordered hangover food to his nan’s house by mistake.

Felipe Serradourada Guimarães, chief creative officer at BBH London, said the team wanted to follow “two characters on an unexpected journey” rather than string together little moments. Alicia Southgate, Tesco’s head of marketing, said customers had told the retailer that life had been hard but that “Christmas still matters deeply”. The film is backed by a touring Santa’s Grotto and a prize draw for 30 family trips to Lapland, open to Clubcard members who spend £25.

Why it matters

This is a clear change of course. Last year Tesco ran 11 short films in 10, 20 and 30-second lengths, an episodic approach that came seventh in our Christmas adverts 2025 ranking. The Wrong Address swaps that knowing chaos for a long-form reunion and puts famous faces on screen for the first time since 2019.

The smart part is the casting of the service, not just the stars. The van, the driver and the order going astray put home delivery at the centre of the story, so the product does the plot work instead of turning up in a pack shot. Tesco has made actors carry its brand before, most famously with Prunella Scales as Dotty, and the song choice is a neat wink at Every Little Helps.

The risk is the field. Most rivals are leaning on recurring characters, and a three-minute one-off has to earn its place without a familiar hook. Watch how hard Tesco cuts it down for TV, and whether the warmth holds up in 30 seconds.

See every UK Christmas advert of 2026 so far, with the films, updated as each one launches.