TWO brothers from a Bradford theatre school are melting hearts this Christmas as the stars of a feelgood festive advert for the Co-op.

The heartwarming TV advert sees Austin and Rocco Haynes busking on the street, singing Oasis anthem Round Are Way, to raise the spirits of Christmas shoppers.

The brothers spent a week in London filming the advert. Austin, 12, plays a boy who, after hearing on the News that “Christmas will be different this year”, pulls out a guitar from under his bed and heads out. He’s followed by his little brother, played by seven year-old Rocco who asks: “Can I come?”

Outside their local Co-op store,Austin starts quietly singing, while Rocco sits on the guitar case in a Santa hat. As shoppers stop to listen and applaud, the boys belt out the song, and the ad ends with an uplifting twist. The theme is raising community spirits at the end of a year that’ has been hit by the pandemic.

“I felt like a rock star,” said Austin. “I loved the whole experience and I won’t ever forget it. It was really nice to see people smiling when we were filming the scenes.”

The boys attend Articulate Drama School and Agency in Bradford. Principal Stacey Burrows said: “We’re extremely proud of them. It’s great to see two lovely, down -to-earth northern lads on the face of such a big campaign, with such a beautiful community message.”

Austin said: “I really enjoy acting, I’ve been doing it for about five years now since I joined Articulate. I love auditioning for roles and for this one I got to audition with the talented casting director Sue Odell, which was pretty cool.

"When we found out we’d got the part we were jumping up and down with excitement. We got to work with the amazing director Billy Boyd Cape who made our time on set so much fun.” Rocco added: “We got to go to a real recording studio to record the track.”

The talented brothers are no strangers to television. They were both in hit TV dramas Gentleman Jack and All Creatures Great and Small, and the film Ali and Ava, made in Bradford. Austin was also in 2020 film The Duke, starring Dame Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent.

The Co-op ad is the second of the retailer’s Winter 2020 campaign. Co-op Customer Director Ali Jones said: “It’s been a tough year and our Christmas ad aims to raise a smile and maybe bring a tear to the eye. I love its simple portrayal of how special moments can happen when family, community and goodwill come together.”

To watch the ad go to youtube.com/watch?v=HzHW9xZNxoI&feature=youtu.be