West End to sparkle tonight

The "People's Tenor" Russell Watson has pledged to sing live tonight in Regent Street despite having lost his voice in the last 24 hours.

Watson cancelled a filming appointment and a recording session with the BBC yesterday to ensure his voice is in perfect shape tonight as he turns on the Christmas lights in the heart of the West End. The ceremony will be accompanied by live music for the first time.

Watson will perform in aid of The Variety Club of Great Britain from a stage on Regent Street before the lights are illuminated in front of an expected crowd of shoppers.

A spokeswoman for the ceremony said: "He was just not well enough to make the appointments yesterday in order to be well enough to sing.

"He is obviously concerned about his voice. He will definitely turn up tonight and he will be singing." Before he lost his voice, Watson, 34, said: "I am looking forward to people-joining me for the biggest street concert London has ever seen. It is a great honour to be turning on the lights and to be performing live in this famous street.

"It also means I can catch up on my Christmas shopping."

He said he was "overwhelmed" by his stellar rise to the top of the music industry - which has also resulted in offers from film makers including Steven Spielberg.

Looking back on a year in which his first two albums have leapt to the top of the classical charts on both sides of the Atlantic, Watson said: "It's been a great year for me. I've been singing professionally for many years but since the release of my first album in May things have moved very quickly.

"I've sung to the Queen and President Bush and I've been invited to sing for the Pope at the Vatican in a few weeks. I've just got back from LA, where I performed at the opening of the Kodak Theatre, which is the new home of the Oscars.

"That was a very big event and it led to meetings with people from Spielberg's company Dreamworks.

"They are very keen for me to get involved with them in a movie, but I am still weighing up various offers.

"I want a serious acting role - it doesn't have to be a singing role."

Watson, a former factory worker, launched his classical career after he was spotted singing Nessun Dorma in a working men's club in his native Salford.

And to cap a golden year, he was recently appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador and became the first person to sing the theme for a Star Trek series.

? Anne Robinson, presenter of the BBC quiz show The Weakest Link, will also be switching on the Christmas lights at Burlington Arcade, off Piccadilly .

Light relief from heavy metal
'Christmas shoppers nervous'
It's Christmas with This is London!