Baywatch star to send young to sleep

The former Knight Rider actor and Britain’s Got Talent judge will be telling the tale of Billy, who rescues one of his parents’ snails to keep as a pet, from My Friend NIgel, by Jo Hodgkinson, on New Year’s Eve. The US star, 60, said: “As a child I used to love reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and I can still recite all the words today.”

He added of his own Christmas memories: “I remember my mother used to always make us a very special dish – string beans covered in marshmallows and cornflakes... fantastic!”

Other names reading bedtime stories over the festive period, on the BBC channel for young children, include singer Lulu, actors Bernard Cribbins, Matthew McNulty and Stephen Graham and Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor.

Graham is best known for playing thug roles in the likes of This Is England and Boardwalk Empire.