Preheat your oven to 180C/ Gas mark 4.

Peel the onions, wash the carrots, and then roughly chop them along with the celery and bacon.

Add the veggies, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and star anise into a high-sided roasting tray, then scatter the bacon on top.

Add the chicken (if you're using wings, break them open first and bash them with a rolling pin).

Drizzle olive oil over the ingredients, season with salt and toss until everything is combined.

Cook for around one hour, until the veggies and meat have turned tender.

Remove the tray from the oven and transfer it to the hob under low heat.

Grind and mash everything together with a potato masher.

Add your sherry or port (optional) and leave it to cook away for a couple of minutes.

Gradually stir in the flour, then pour in two litres of boiling kettle water.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened and reduced - stirring occasionally.

Once the gravy is to your liking, pour it through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, pushing the gravy through with the back of a spoon.

Taste and season to your preference then allow the sauce to cool to room temperature.

Pour into containers or bags and pop into the fridge or freezer ready to use up.

On the 25th, add the gravy to your turkey tin once you've moved your meat to rest.

Bring to the boil over the hob and scrape up all those sticky bits from the base.

Have a taste, then stir in the cranberry sauce to balance the flavours.

Once the gravy is piping hot, carefully strain it again through a coarse sieve into a pan.

Leave it on the lowest heat until you're ready to serve, and skim away any fat that rises to the top.