Play along at home as the stars and players strive to sort the singing sensations from the woeful warblers. Gemma Dunn finds out what to expect.

With seasonal lip sync songs and sacks of festive cheer, the I Can See Your Voice Christmas Special makes for perfect family viewing.

After a successful first series, the addictive play-a-long singing game show is back on BBC One for a one-off frolic, with host Paddy McGuinness returning to the helm, and Jimmy Carr, Alison Hammond and Amanda Holden reuniting as its trio of celebrity investigators.

But for those who missed it earlier this year, how does the format work?

The seasoned celebrity investigators will attempt to help the team of two players (in this instance TV presenter Gabby Logan and contestant Dev) tell the difference between a selection of good and bad mystery singers - without ever hearing them sing a note.

With £10,000 on the line, the duo will attempt to weed out the bad singers via four rounds, from First Impressions to Lip Sync to Unlock My Life and finally Interrogation.

In the end, the last singer standing will reveal if they are a good or a bad singer in a duet with the guest music star - this time it's none other than Leona Lewis. If the players pick a good singer they win the money, but if a bad singer has managed to fake it all the way to the end, they steal the prize.

Exciting! What more can the stars tell us about the festive edition?

THE HOST

Hosting duties once again fall to Paddy McGuinness, who promises viewers a "really fun Christmas show" to boot.

"We've got Leona Lewis on which, for me, is the best thing ever because her voice is so powerful and she's so lovely!" boasts the Top Gear presenter, 48. "I think of her at Christmas time because she released a Christmas song, and her voice reminds me of Mariah Carey's.

"All the mystery singers are dressed up in Christmas-themed outfits, so that's lovely. Gabby Logan is also helping our contestant Dev and he's a fan of hers, so that's a great surprise. And because it's Christmas... we all lip sync at the top of the show - me, Jimmy, Amanda and Alison!"

Is he a fan of the festive season himself?

"You know when people say they are going abroad for Christmas to the beach? Well, I like the cold! I like cold, dark nights, sat in with family, turkey, telly on - lovely!" quips the father of three, who's married to The Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Christine McGuinness. "That's my favourite thing about it. Just spending time at home."

THE CELEBRITY INVESTIGATORS

It's hard to imagine a more perfect trio of celebrity investigators than the reunited panel: Alison Hammond, Amanda Holden and Jimmy Carr.

"If you like I Can See Your Voice and you like tinsel, you will love our Christmas special," promises comedy maestro Carr, 49, whose job - along with his co-stars - is to sort the singing sensations from the woeful warblers.

"The response to series one was completely overwhelming and unexpected," muses Holden, 50. "So many young people I work with were glued to the show every week, so I'm thrilled we are back with not only a Christmas special but also a second series next year too!

"It's the perfect show to watch over Christmas and there is everything in there that you'd expect," adds the Britain's Got Talent Judge. "We are dressed up to the nines! We have Christmas songs. Paddy, Alison, Jimmy and I are even doing a bit of a skit. The whole show feels like the old days when the whole family sat down and watched TV and ate and drank together."

"It's a lovely show, with Christmassy songs which will put everyone in the mood for a lovely Christmas!" agrees Hammond, 46. "There's a really special opener and we are all involved, which everyone is going to love!"

"Christmas telly is amazing," concludes Carr. "And I quite like those days between Christmas and New Year when you're not sure what day of the week it is. We're trained for this now, ever since those three lockdowns, I reckon we've got this on lock."

THE SPECIAL GUEST

Joining the celebrity investigators as a special guest is none other than superstar Leona Lewis.

And having carved out a stellar singing career since her 2006 X Factor win - the three-time Grammy nominee has sold more than 35 million records worldwide - the 36-year-old certainly has the expertise to identify the good from the bad, ahead of her finale duet.

But what's her strategy?

"So, I thought my strategy would be to see what techniques the singers were using, the real singers, the good singers, so I was looking at mic technique and breath control, and if the vibrato looked like it matched the person who was singing," reasons the Bleeding Love hitmaker.

"But it was quite difficult, and I was pretty rubbish at it, honestly! I thought I'd be way better. It was really fun, actually seeing how good they were at faking it, it was great."

For Lewis, this holiday season it's all about seeing her family.

"I live in a different country now," she says, having relocated to LA. "And so seeing everyone at Christmas, coming home, is really special for me. I love being at home for Christmas, being with everyone, playing games."

THE CONTESTANT

Also tasked with telling the difference between the good and bad mystery singers - without ever hearing them sing a note - is Gabby Logan and contestant Dev, who has his eye on the £10,000 prize fund.

How does she fancy his chances?

"It's a very dramatic show and things didn't always go completely to plan for me and Dev," admits veteran broadcaster Logan, 48.

"We were completely bamboozled in the lip syncing round; the singers have become so good at lip syncing, so we learned very little during that round and anything we thought we knew, we didn't. Once we started getting more backstories, I was looking for clues in the videos for any hints to see if the person was genuine or not..."

Did the insights from celebrity investigators help or hinder, then?

"Some of them hindered and some of them helped!" Logan notes. "Jimmy is convinced that he is right, he's a very convinced person about things. He would give me looks and I'd think to myself 'What have I done wrong?' Alison was just brilliantly off the wall."

But the show in general was "incredibly Christmassy", she finishes. "Lovely feel to it, lots of Christmas numbers and everybody looked like they were about to go to a Christmas party!"

- The I Can See Your Voice Christmas Special airs on BBC One on Friday December 24.