While Brexit raged, I was being rushed into secret two-minute screenings – of Christmas adverts

Once we used a commercial break for a cuppa. Now a whole industry of intrigue has built around these festive offerings: they’re very much the main event

Around 8pm on Wednesday, a corner of the newsroom erupted with jeers and shouts. Theresa May walked out of 10 Downing Street to announce that she’d reached a Brexit deal. The newsdesk was on tenterhooks. What would this mean for the future of the country? Will the British people get a final say on the deal? How does this abate concerns over free movement, the single market and Northern Ireland’s border?

Across the other side of the newsroom, I sat tearing my hair out. I was compiling an urgent live blog, the sort that charts developments as they happen on the website. Had I formatted it correctly? Had I ensured the scheduled publication time wouldn’t break the embargo? The pressure of covering these huge events can be immense. We must strike the right chord for the dedicated Independent readership. Covering the John Lewis Christmas advert is a tricky thing.

Yes, while news writers, political correspondents and comment editors lapped up cabinet chaos, tweaked headlines and toed the line of opinion and straight reporting, I was ensuring our coverage of a department store’s festive campaign was plentiful and on-brand, sating the appetites of hungry tweeters.