Northants piano's role in Paddington number one bid

An eye-catching piano provided by a Northamptonshire business features in the music video for a song vying for this year's Christmas number one spot.

Milton Keynes Pianos – which moved across the border two years ago – supplied the instrument for One of Us, written and performed by McFly frontman Tom Fletcher.

The song is from the new West End show Paddington The Musical.

Martin Porter sourced the piano, painted it blue and took it to a platform at London Paddington station for the filming.

"We were contacted by the production company and asked to source preferably a blue piano," he said.

"They wanted to be able to see the inside and all the workings, so we sourced this 1990s Cramer upright piano.

"We had to wheel it down the platform while people were still getting on and off the trains... a lot of people just walked straight past and didn't even really notice us!"

Mr Porter said he was nervous when Fletcher, from Hertfordshire, first sat down to play the instrument.

"Tom was great, very professional," he said.

"I obviously had played it myself and checked it all over but there's always that moment, but he seemed really pleased with it. He had a big smile on his face."

Mr Porter's business was set up in Milton Keynes in 2018 but moved to Towcester two years ago.

Its main work is restoration and sourcing special pianos, but it's no stranger to unusual requests.

"We've done some painted pianos before," he said.

"We did a bright yellow one for a bee-themed cafe and we get requests for sprinkle effects and different paint effects.

"But this is the first high-profile video that we've done. It was a good experience."

Paddington The Musical opened in the West End last month to rave reviews.

One of Us is vying to be crowned this year's Christmas number one but it faces competition from the likes of Kylie Minogue and the perennial Wham favourite Last Christmas.

The winner will be announced on BBC Radio 1's The Official Chart on Friday, 19 December.