Father Christmas has a special helper in Sheffield - but please don't pull on his beard!

That’s because he has been helping Father Christmas since 2005.

Meet Alan Turner, who today plays the role for the last time as he bows out at Kelham Island’s Victorian Christmas Market.

He knows you can’t fool children so he doesn’t try.

“I missed it last year, we all did because of Covid. So Santa is extremely busy this year. He needed a few extra helpers around the area. That’s me.”

A good way of explaining why he dresses up in a red and white suit, dons a beard and starts asking wide-eyed children what they want for Christmas.

“Talking to the kids is the highlight. Some kick off, screaming and don’t want to come in. I try and coax them in. Others are confident and dive on you.

“The most unusual request I’ve had was from a seven-year-old who wanted a Scientific Officer’s Kit. I’m still looking for it!

“I get regulars who come again and see me. People from Australia, Canada, India, the Middle East. They are on holiday here, families want to see Santa so they come and see me.

“Santa is an international thing so I get visitors from Sweden, Germany, France, Italy. I remember people, I get to see the same families every year, although it’s not always easy when you’re all made up with the wig and glasses to recognise them!

“This year will be special because it’s the last time I will do it and it will make up for last year when there was no event.

“We’ll make it up for it this year, I want to do the best I can.”

It is quite a responsibility. Father Christmas is a traditional English personification of the Christmas season.

But the history is international, as Alan knows with his fans in far flung corners of the globe.

Nowadays, most people in England associate his character with Santa Claus and Father Christmas is more or less the same figure as Santa.

But that wasn’t always the case. Although being a bringer of gifts, like Santa Claus, is a part of his story, it’s not the main part until the late 19th Century.

Surprisingly, his emergence is tied up with a very serious and bitter war on Christmas: the attempt by the English government to abolish Christmas entirely in the 17th century.

The texts of mummers’ plays - traditional Christmas folk dramas acted in English-speaking countries - reveal that Father Christmas’s main features are venerable age, an anxiety about being forgotten, a desire to be welcomed, and a longing to facilitate abundance, feasting, and entertainment.

Alan can appreciate these attributes. He’s 79, encourages his visitors to feel relaxed and enjoys a good feast. Just don’t pull his beard. “Everybody wants to but sometimes I can see it coming and stop it.

“I haven’t really had any embarrassing moments, although a reindeer once prodded me as I bent down!

“On The Moor, someone said ‘Can I tell you something Santa, your beard is not real’.

“I said ‘I know, just don’t tell anybody’.”

Thinking on your feet is important. And being honest. So what is father-of-one Alan’s story? He lives in Todwick, is married to Pauline and worked for The Star from 1970, joining newspaper sales before moving to promotions.

Ask anyone who worked with Alan and they all use the same word - lovely.

The Star worked closely with Scott Barton of Yellow Bus Events, which put on various city spectaculars such as After Dark. Scott also did Santa’s Grottos.

“He called me to ask what I was doing next Wednesday at tea-time,” says Alan. “I said not a lot and he said he could do with a spare Santa, cheeky bugger.”

It was 2005 and Alan was about to start his Santa journey.

“Scott fixed me up with a suit, his beard and his wig and we went on The Moor in the reindeer pen.

“Scott didn’t know what to do so I borrowed a sleigh and sat in it. The kids were miles away shouting to me and I thought this is useless so I got out and walked to them.

“The following year, we had the reindeer in a separate pen so the kids could see them and then they could see me.

“We did three to four hours and it was pretty good. More and more people said go and see him so it just developed.”

It got to the point where Alan bought my own Santa suit. “I thought I could look better if it was mine as we were doing it once a year.

“I get a big cushion to plump me out and it usually looks right. It’s red and white with a belt and a brass buckle. I bought it from a specialist costume company in Gainsborough.”

Serious business this Santa stuff. “It was about £60 or £70. But if you go for the American ones, they can be up to $400, with glitter and beautifully designed.”

Of course Alan is fully police checked and has renewed his paperwork eight times. He’s responsible and he’s prepared.

Before a grotto, Alan goes online to see what the top 10 Christmas toys are. It’s never much of a surprise. “Girls still want dolls or the latest phone which can be anything up to £500.

“Lads want football shirts and game consoles. You’ve got to be prepared so I know about PS4.”

Alan continued on The Moor up to 2016 and was approached by Kelham Island Museum about nine years ago after another Star colleague remembered his efforts.

“The guy who had done it previously at Kelham had told a Christmas story but that wasn’t my style.

“I said how about the kids queue for a photo with me after they’ve done some paintings and made decorations for the tree. I would then ask them what they wanted for Christmas, it seemed to work.”

His last one was in 2019 when he had a grotto, taking over a room used to display World War One exhibits. Alan was helped by an elf and they made quite a team.

“Children would knock on the door of the grotto, the elf asked them who they were and I would ask them what they wanted for Christmas. All the usual chatter, so they would come in through one door and leave by another.”

Unfortunately, Alan started to develop symptoms of Parkinsons Disease three years ago and that is the reason he has decided this year will be his last.

“I was thinking that next year I’ll be 80 and I might be a bit more shaky,” he said. “You don’t know what the future holds so perhaps it’s time to step back.”

He’ll do the Saturday session at Kelham and that will be it. But the memories will stay with him forever.

“Over the years I’ve been on thousands of videos and pictures on people’s phones. They take them back to America and Australia, so you could say I’m an international superstar!”

•Alan’s farewell is today at Kelham Island Museum’s Victorian Christmas Market. Advance tickets have sold out, but you can still pay at the ticket desk on the day.

Today runs from 10am-7pm and tomorrow is 10am-5pm. Tickets for adults are £7.50, children under 16 free.