JOOLS HOLLAND’S Annual Hootenanny is as much a part of New Year’s Eve as binge drinking, fireworks, and a gnawing sense of disappointment.
We’ve all dreamt of celebrating the NYE countdown with Jools and his celebrity pals. Right?
Well, here’s the bad news (for those of you that didn’t already know). Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny doesn’t take place on New Year’s Eve at all.
It’s a prerecorded show with a countdown that doesn’t even happen at midnight.
Yep:
This year’s edition was recorded on a Wednesday night in December (the 11th to be exact) at a studio in Maidstone, Kent. It was expected to wrap up by 10.45pm so everyone could be home nice and early.
The broadcast will feature US pop outfit Haim, who were in the UK touring when the show was recorded.
They’ll appear alongside Emeli Sandé, Mel C, The Kinks songwriter Ray Davies, Lisa Stansfield and The Lumineers.
Imagine how awkward it must feel in that studio when they have to do the pretend countdown and sing Auld Lang Syne.
There was controversy when it first emerged that the show was pre-recorded. Viewers complained as Kylie Minogue performed on the Hootenanny, despite also celebrating the New Year in Australia.
At the time, the BBC told the Daily Mail that a sequence in which Jools was shown time-travelling “was specifically included to make clear to viewers that the programme was not broadcast live”.
The statement added that the Hootenanny was “an idealised New Year’s Eve party”.
