CHRISTMAS came early for troops in Iraq when The British Forces Foundation, sponsored by BAE Systems, dropped in with ITV in December.

BFF Trustee and singing sensation Katherine Jenkins was accompanied by comedian Joe Pasquale and celebrity chef Gary Rhodes for this very special visit.

They, and the rest of The British Forces Foundation team, arrived at the Contingency Operating Base in Basrah on December 12.

Gary headed straight for the kitchen to prepare dinner for the troops while Katherine and Joe met with the servicemen and women, and got themselves ready for the first of two shows.

The stage was built inside an aircraft hangar with seating for 1,000 troops, and come the start of the show there was standing room only.

When the curtain came down it was time for dinner and both Katherine and Joe joined Gary in helping him serve up the culinary delights - including his famous bread and butter pudding.

At 8pm it was time for the second show and another full house. The audience fully appreciated the quality of the entertainment and the commitment of the performers.

Wg Cdr Wayne Loxton said: "It was a real pleasure to host you all. BFF most certainly achieved the aim. The lads are still talking about it now and it was a huge success. Many thanks for all your efforts."

Much of the visit was filmed by a television crew from ITV, and the footage was screened at prime-time on Christmas Eve during a special programme hosted by Philip Schofield.

Although both The British Forces Foundation shows in Basrah were a huge success, the visit didn't go quite without a hitch. The BFF team were due to fly out of Iraq that night but heavy fog put paid to that and they were unable to get home until the following day.