A STAR of Strictly Come Dancing and Hollyoaks will switch on the Christmas lights in Keighley this year.

Ashley Taylor Dawson will share the button-pushing moment on Sunday, December 1, with a local ‘Young Hero’ nominated by a reader of the T&A's sister paper the Keighley News.

The event, jointly organised by Keighley BID and the Airedale Shopping Centre, will feature a day of festive entertainment including a life-size animatronic polar bear named Bjorn, live entertainment, and giveaways.

Shopping Centre manager Steve Seymour said he was looking forward to meeting Ashley at the event.

He said: “I’m sure Ashley’s autograph session in the Airedale Shopping Centre will be extremely popular. Timings for the autograph session are to be confirmed so keep checking the websites and social media for updates.

“The extra element of a local Young Hero is something we haven’t tried before at this event and the response we’ve had back has been phenomenal. We’re going bigger than ever this year and finishing things off with a spectacular fireworks display from national, award-winning and Keighley-based Optimum Fireworks.”

BID Manager Paul Howard said: “We wanted to do things a little differently this year so decided to reach out to the public to find a deserving young person, and give them the VIP treatment for an event they wont forget, spending the day shopping with £250, meeting our celebrity and getting to switch on the lights.

“It’s going to be a very hard decision just choosing one as there are lots of deserving recipients."