 There was considerable anticipation that it would be the Christmas number one in 1997 and it was the betting favorite at William Hill at odds of 6–4.This race was said to have been decided by the under-10 age group as the rival Spice Girls were popular with seven-year-old girls while the Teletubbies were more popular with younger children.Siobhan Ennis, the singles manager at Tower Records' flagship store in Piccadilly Circus said, "The race for the Christmas No 1 is really exciting.