New adventures for Eric the Turkey and Shropshire singer Adrian - watch their new video

Eric is the creation of Adrian Hill, who has composed catchy Christmas songs and videos about the adventurous turkey for the past four festive seasons. He aims to ruffle a few more feathers in the music world and raise a few more Christmas smiles this year.

Eric's latest adventure, Eric the Turkey's Christmas Surprise, has been launched online to coincide with the John Lewis Christmas TV advert, traditionally one of the signs that the festive season is on its way.

"In the new video, Eric has some unfinished business to attend to," said Adrian who is automotive products manager at Morris Lubricants in Shrewsbury.

"We all know the story about Eric escaping at Christmas and going on to survive and be granted a wish by Santa to fly.

"He's now become Santa's best friend and he wants to help him on Christmas Eve. Santa gives him an opportunity to revisit his past to have closure on various things that have happened in his life. It's payback time.

"Members of my close family have seen the video and heard the song and they laughed their socks off, which was a good sign.

"Because it's Eric's payback time, it's particularly funny for small children but adults will enjoy it, too."

Because the previous Eric the Turkey videos were so popular, Adrian, who is married to Sam and dad to Emily, 16, Oliver, 11, and Matthew, nine, said he felt under pressure to maintain the standard and therefore upgraded the video production this year.

Eric the Turkey first appeared in an acoustic song in 2013, which was followed by songs and videos, Eric the Turkey Drumstick and Basted Remix in 2014 and Eric the Turkey's Christmas Wish last year. Now there's Eric the Turkey's Christmas Surprise.

Adrian, originally from Stourbridge but now living in Telford, has been writing funny Christmas songs for his family for about 11 years. The idea of a song about the only turkey in the world that loves Christmas was prompted by a conversation with his family while they were stuck in a traffic jam en route to Silverstone.

"Turkeys have a pretty rough deal a Christmas and I thought it would be ironic if a turkey looked forward to Christmas Day instead of dreading it," he explained. "As for the name, I don't know any turkeys called Eric. I just thought it would be the most unlikely name to give him and it certainly works."

Adrian, a former singer and bass player in an alternative rock band, added: "I love making people laugh and have a bit of twisted sense of humour. Comedy and music works for me and a lot of people seem to like Eric the Turkey. It still takes up as much of my time as the serious music I create, but I get a much more enjoyable reaction to it.

"Every November at work I'm under pressure to release the latest instalment of Eric the Turkey. It's a bit like the Coca Cola lorry or the John Lewis advert. Christmas wouldn't be the same without Eric."