Hastings girl Raffiella Chapman, 14, stars in John Lewis Christmas advert 2021

Raffiella Chapman features in the two-minute advert, called Unexpected Guest. This year’s advert, released today (Thursday, November 4) follows the story of Nathan, a 14-year-old boy on his way home from school who spots a flashing light in the distance and chases it to the woods beside his home. Here that he encounters 14-year-old space traveller, Skye (played by Raffiella Chapman) and her ship from another galaxy. Nathan adapts his own Christmas jumper by adding a star and twinkly lights just like Skye’s. The pair strike up a friendship and Nathan helps Skye to discover the magic of her first Christmas. Nathan introduces her to some of his favourite Christmas moments, bringing her fairy lights from his family’s tree. After a festive meal with family and friends, Nathan brings Skye a mince pie, and she delights at trying this for the first time. Their friendship grows while watching Christmas films and playing in the snow. The time comes when Skye has fixed her ship and must return to her home planet and the pair are to be separated. Nathan gifts her his Christmas jumper, the same one he was wearing when they first met, and the pair say goodbye just before she boards her ship. As Skye leaves, she disappears into the night sky and leaves a twinkling star on a Christmas tree in the distance. This year’s soundtrack to the advert is performed by Lola Young, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from south London. The track Together in Electric Dreams, originally released by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder in 1984, was chosen as a celestial compliment to the advert, John Lewis said. Raffiella, who plays Skye, won her first movie role when she was aged five, starring as Lucy Hawking in The Theory of Everything, alongside Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. She also played Claire Densmore in Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Raffiella plays Jinya in Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite for Paramount starring Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor and recently completed filming on her breakthrough lead role of Vesper in Vesper Seeds, directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper, starring alongside Eddie Marsan. Claire Pointon, director of customer at John Lewis & Partners, said: “There is nothing more magical than discovering the joy of Christmas for the first time and enjoying your favourite festive moments with loved ones. “After the last 18 months, we wanted our advert to really celebrate this as we look forward to a brighter future. We know our customers are excited for this festive season more than ever, as they reconnect with family and friends. “Through the story of Skye and Nathan we celebrate friendship and are reminded of the joy of experiencing Christmas for the first time.”