Big Brother star Jonny Regan turned on more than 500,000 Christmas lights at the Gateshead MetroCentre.
Joining the County Durham firefighter were the centre's entertainers, the MetroGnomes, while volunteers from Kings Meadow School, Gateshead, were on hand to guide disabled shoppers around the centre.
The switch-on also marked the start of the Salvation Army's Light Up a Child's Life appeal, where shoppers are asked to buy an extra gift for local needy children.
The MetroCentre's Christmas shopping hours run from Monday, November 18, until Monday, December 23.
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