DOES PIERCE STILL SOUND LIKE A DONKEY?

IN A platinum-blonde wig and a white trouser suit, Cher belts out a stunning version of Fernando with Andy Garcia that sends shivers down the spine. It’s already been released as a single.

But viewers will be bracing themselves for shivers of a different kind with the return of Pierce Brosnan, whose singing voice in the first film was likened to a water buffalo, a braying donkey and a wounded racoon.

When Brosnan watched the film for the first time, in Barbra Streisand’s home movie theatre, she apparently gave his knee a squeeze and said: ‘Very good.’ Her dog, Sammy, was less impressed, though — and gave him a nip. Brosnan does have one very important fan, however. Abba’s Benny Andersson said: ‘It’s really annoyed me the way people say Pierce Brosnan can’t sing. He can — and he sings well.’

Colin Firth, who had never sung outside the shower before the first film, now claims he needs a 12-step programme to get the songs out of his head.

All the actors were required to sing their own parts — recording their main vocals with Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus in the same studio Abba used. No pressure, then.