I gave Elton a hand with his £7m advert
SCHOOLBOY SITS IN FOR POP SUPERSTAR
Heather Greenaway You might not recognise little Tony Lambie from the John Lewis Christmas ad...
But the schoolboy plays the most important part of Sir Elton John – his hands.
The seven-year- old can be seen tinkling the ivories at the end of the eagerly-anticipated £7million ad, which shows how the gift of a piano turned Elton into a megastar.
Tony, f rom Chape l ha l l , Lanarkshire, spent three days filming the epic advert alongside the other youngsters who were cast as Elton at various stages throughout his life.
Although the finished ad focuses on fou r - yea r - old Fredd ie Henderson’s version of Elton, Tony’s hands made the final cut and will be seen by millions in the run-up to Christmas.
Tony, a pupil at S t A n d r ew ’ s Primary in Airdrie, said: “I had the best time of my life f ilming. If I was asked to do it all again and I didn’t appear in any shape or form, I’d still be up for it. We got to see lots of famous sights in London and it was especially good as I’d never been to London before.”
Five actors play Elton throughout his life in the festive blockbuster, which has already had more than five million views on YouTube.
Tony landed his part through the Glasgow-based UK Theatre School where he’s been studying performing arts for the last two years.
His dad Tony, who works in IT and accompanied his son on location in the London borough of Harrow where the ad was f ilmed, said: “In the end, it was only his hands that made a big appearance – but it’s not everyone who can say their hands were used to portray a young Elton playing his piano.”
Tony’s mum Colette, a primary school teacher, added: “There was so much secrecy surrounding the advert that we didn’t know whether any part of Tony had made the cut until it went live.
“Tony is quite laid back about the whole thing and doesn’t understand all the fuss. It’s a great achievement and hopefully will be his first advert of many.”