Welsh singer and presenter Aled Jones tells me “the show will have more tinsel than a weekend of Strictly Come Dancing in Blackpool,” as he prepares to duet with a soprano playing a younger version of himself at the Barbican Centre, next week.

The 45-year-old will be performing a medley of Christmas carols including O Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, as well as a special version of the song Walking In The Air that shot him to fame in 1985, which will be sung as a duet with a young soprano.

The songs are taken from his latest album, One Voice At Christmas, which was released last month following the number one success of the album he released at the beginning of the year, One Voice.

His new album features never-before-released recordings of him as a boy, with the adult Aled singing alongside.

Aled, who is also a presenter on Classic FM, explains why he wanted to give a number of classic festive tunes a new lease of life and reveals how he can still hit all the high notes on Walking In The Air, which was the title song from the 1982 animated film version of Raymond Briggs’ 1978 much loved children’s book The Snowman.

He says: “The show at the Barbican is all-singing and dancing and can’t get more Christmassy than that. There will be an orchestra, choirs, a few readings, a few narrations and also a new version of Walking In The Air, which will be sung with a little boy soprano.

“There will be a few songs from the new album being played, but mostly will be music that you associate with the festive season such as Silent Night, Away In A Manger and the orchestra will be playing The Night Before Christmas. It is just a huge celebration of Christmas.”

Aled Jones has had an extraordinary career over the past three decades, as he has sung for the Pope, The Queen and has released more than 30 albums that have generated eight million albums sales.

He has also been performing at the Barbican all his life, after doing the original Snowman concerts there when he was younger and also performing alongside composer Leonard Bernstein, where Aled sang the Chichester Psalms.

He explains: “That was one of the biggest highlights of my career as a boy. However, I haven’t sung at the Barbican for quite a few years, so I’m looking forward to it. There's always a good vibe and it's a fantastic hall.

“I’m looking forward to performing the new version of Walking In The Air, which is also being used in a stage version of the show, which is running at the Peacock Theatre in Holborn.

“There is definitely no getting away from that song, as I’d already released about ten albums by the time it came out, but it just so happened that it stayed in people’s consciences for so many years. I’m proud to have been part of something so beautiful and the cartoon is amazing, it is much healthier to embrace something like that, rather than shy away from it.

“It was also incredible to get a number one album earlier in the year, as it spent 15 weeks at number one in the classic charts and three at the top of the pop charts, and through that, I’ve been able to release my Christmas album now too, which has been quite surreal, it ends with a duet of me and the late Terry Wogan singing Little Drummer Boy.

“It’s been a busy year but this Christmas, I can’t wait to spend time with my family, closing the door and eating and drinking too much.”

Christmas With Aled Jones, The Barbican Centre, Silk Street, Barbican, EC2Y 8DS, Thursday, December 22 and Friday, December 23, 7.30pm. Details: barbican.org.uk