BLACKPOOL's night sky blazed into life for another year on Friday as pop stars STEPS became the 59th guests to flick the illuminations switch in the town's Talbot Square.

And joining the famous five were Baby Spice Emma Bunton, former Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow and Rochdale songbird Lisa Stansfield.

BBC Radio 2 once again ran Friday night's show, broadcasting live to the nation from 8.30pm until the big countdown at 9.30pm, but this time the dulcet tones of Terry Wogan were replaced by DJ Janice Long.

A reported 20,000 people filled the resort to enjoy the spectacle of STEPS live who were unable to attend the after dinner at the Hilton hotel or sign the town hall register due to work commitments.

A police spokesman said of the massive outdoor event: "There were no incidents of note but obviously we had contingencies in hand in relation to crowd control."

Blackpool Illuminations will now shine every night along the Promenade until Nov 4.