Emotional BBC Christmas advert freezes time so mother and son can be together

Film portrays plight of mother struggling to find time to be with son

Finding those precious moments in your day to spend time with your loved ones can be tricky, especially during the hectic festive period.

The latest BBC1 Christmas advert tells a very relatable story, depicting a mother struggling to make time for her son due to the stressful demands of her day.

The film starts with the mother frantically leaving the house for work in the morning, while her son tries to engage her in conversation to no avail.

‘Wonderland’ (BBC One)

He then sends her a text message asking whether she’s still going to be spending time with him that evening, as they’d previously arranged.

She responds with a sigh, having evidently forgotten, saying that she’s not sure whether she’ll have the time.

As the day progresses the son has to make do with his own company, throwing stones at the beach and playing video games in the arcade.

‘Wonderland’ (BBC One)

While at work the mother is bombarded with urgent emails and phone calls, appearing visibly strained as she attempts to juggle multiple strenuous tasks at once.

Suddenly her computer starts to malfunction, at the same time as her son’s video game.

As the pair look around the office and the arcade, they realise that everyone around them has become frozen in time.

‘Wonderland’ (BBC One)

The mother looks at her computer screen saver, which shows a picture of her with her son as a young boy at Christmas.

With tears filling her eyes, she races out of her office to find him.

They then spend the day together playing games in the arcade, racing around in dodgems and eating candyfloss on a bench on the pier in Cromer, Norfolk, where the advert was filmed.

‘Wonderland’ (BBC One)

As the film ends, the pair embrace and everyone around them becomes unfrozen once more.

The advert’s message, that Christmas is meant to be spent with people you love, has resonated with many.

“Great @BBC Christmas advert – reminding us all what Christmas is really about – sitting here with tears streaming down my face,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“My two children are now 33 and 27 years old,” another person wrote.

“It made me want to jump in the car and drive 700 miles to go and see them and hug them.”

Last month, a man released a heartbreaking Christmas advert that many said rivalled the John Lewis campaign about the career of Sir Elton John.

The short film, which cost just £50 to make, depicts a man listening to tapes left by his late mother at Christmas.