8-across – Around the third of January, today it’s cold for our dance marquee — so play begins : NOWISTHE

9-across – Ram and monkey finally getting close : STUFFY

10-across – See 8 : WINTER

11-across – Beginning to disprove negative principle, disease on the decline : DYINGOUT

12-across – Bound to find drink laced with drug : LEAP

13-across – Informal correspondents retain a day to send letters : PENFRIENDS

15-across – Unhappy to concede a stroke as a player : DOWNBOW

16-across – Spar with Cameron amid cheers, perhaps : TOPMAST

18-across – Entering Fido’s ground, sign has got significance primarily in this part of London? : ISLEOFDOGS

19-across – Please continue to be a thug : GOON

20-across – Transport around a cold, getting sick — that’s a bug : BACILLUS

22-across – Tell supporter at the back to cheer : RELATE

23-across – See short man in woman’s hat : CLOCHE

24-across – Jack, queen, king and ace not extremely unusual : ABERRANT

1-down – Force man to study in the law firm : POLICECONSTABLE

2-down – Some silver providing class in epic fence off : FIFTYPENCEPIECE

3-down – Rioting from troops resistant to the force of powerful elements : STORMPROOF

4-down – Gauge measurement for Berkshire town : READING

5-down – Wine tipped up into fruit salad : ASTI

6-down – Musicians welcoming five hundred dancing emus gatecrashing concert, as not much on when swimming in Australia? : BUDGIESMUGGLERS

7-down – See 8 : OFOURDISCONTENT

14-down – Partition in church, where orders once carried out : ROODSCREEN

17-down – Hole in small chamber where bread absorbs much water : LOOSEAT

21-down – Say something to spring vegetable : LEEK

1-across – Not quite hang on, faced with hard chance : HAPPEN

4-across – Waste food? Rudely, the police are going to : PIGSWILL

9-across – I regret in the morning having knocked back something spicy : MASALA

10-across – Satisfied with top mark for speaking? Don’t take that literally : METAPHOR

11-across – For holiday, books trip for one, strangely wearing suit : AIRPORTFICTION

13-across – Begging to fix prison in Arctic : MENDICANCY

14-across – Anxious to put forward name for bender : KNEE

16-across – Writers wrong to hold book back : NIBS

18-across – Ev-en, sort of flat? : SPLITLEVEL

21-across – False emotion from which actors recoiled in play : CROCODILETEARS

23-across – In park with German, order to renew vows : RECOMMIT

24-across – Strange phenomenon of second sight? : DEJAVU

25-across – Waste small space for writing, wrongly filled : SPILLAGE

26-across – Mass, part of it for saint : MAGNUS

1-down – Prime minister’s residence : HOME

2-down – Powerful emotion as one goes in to die : PASSION

3-down – Some units upset almost falling over … : ELLIPSIS

5-down – … useless, 15, consumed with vice : INEFFECTIVE

6-down – Material examples of second team on board : SWATCH

7-down – Check long note coming from one I serve : ICHDIEN

8-down – Troublingly, an allergy affecting part of the throat : LARYNGEAL

12-down – Charging along a stretch of tarmac? : ROADPRICING

13-down – Chap is admitting restorative means hand jobs : MANICURES

15-down – A reduction of weight, drinking always juice : ALOEVERA

17-down – Rich? No travelling by British Airways : BRONCHI

19-down – Extremely arrogant, uprooting unknown plant : VERVAIN

20-down – Official room to feed horse : FORMAL

22-down – Makes fun of people’s appearance on radio : GUYS

1-across – Evangelist’s working as a lexicographer : JOHNSON

5-across – Sexy and fat: recipe for power : RAUNCHY

10-across – Hairy man in the sauna : ESAU

11-across – 16 1’s passion shown by former setter after drinking it : EXCITEMENT

12-across – Dodgy 10 out of 10 learner’s able to reproduce by pairing up : SEXUAL

13-across – Suggestion hotel uniform gets done differently : INNUENDO

14-across – TV programme producer starts to tackle this one particular odour during intercourse : SETTOPBOX

16-across – Put on Men Only revue at last : STAGE

17-across – Childless set spread out : SPLAY

19-across – Most orchards : CHATROOMS

23-across – Intravenously inject drug that has mother-in-law, not a wife, in ecstasy : MAINLINE

24-across – 16 3’s earth mover, perhaps, for gas main’s housing : ORGASM

26-across – 16 4’s determination to get fifth letter in right answer : RESOLUTION

27-across – Hen party’s warning sign? : OMEN

28-across – Number cruncher’s tip : HUNDRED

29-across – Quality of water nurse added into stew on return : WETNESS

2-down – Blue baby’s odd part in oxygen row : OBSCENE

3-down – Gold vase turned up outside island republic : NAURU

4-down – Partly cover balls on 16 : OVERLAP

6-down – On 16, suffering with persistent pain — time for hospital : ACTING

7-down – Deputy feeling less well also, we hear : NUMBERTWO

8-down – Suspend setter? Guilty, by the look of it : HANGDOG

9-down – Unstable condition of zip, with her chinos badly affected, originally : SCHIZOPHRENIA

15-down – Undefined number carried by rail, coming in to a scheduled terminus? : TRAINLOAD

18-down – 16 2’s high-level flat Paul cooked meal in : PLATEAU

20-down – Severely punish counter-revolutionary : TROUNCE

21-down – Gets to grips with maiden’s top and bloomers : MASTERS

22-down – Doctor is sued for neglect : DISUSE

25-down – Outcry as organ explodes : GROAN

9-across – Press angry with decoration : IRONCROSS

10-across – Member of the 27 25 makes love again in pyjamas returned after the New Year : JANIS

11-across – New York island where musician stripped : ELLIS

12-across – A bit of a bloomer, but almost exactly restored : CALYXTUBE

13-across – See 24 down : HENDRIX

14-across – Taken regularly, home run very easy and works : OEUVRES

17-across – Our last lousy Hamburger and it gets picked up by dogs : ULTRA

19-across – A drink at mine for member of the 27 25 : AMY

20-across – Holy man had us abused : SADHU

21-across – One’s happy in one’s earth, perhaps : ELEMENT

22-across – Put together the beginnings of scientific programme designed to capture parasites : SPLICED

24-across – Prudent to cross street with the Spanish: that would be just delicious : JUDICIOUS

26-across – Cut short regret and cycle to reach maker of puzzle : RUBIK

28-across – Dilemma caused partly by Las Vegas rival : MACAU

29-across – From whom 1 left, drowning in sad memories : SOMMELIER

1-down – See 19 across : WINE

2-down – See 10 : JOPLIN

3-down – 17 cool champion wave rider can be slippery : ICYSURFACE

4-down – Heard one crowing after the 5th bone? : COCCYX

5-down – Singing note, perhaps madly in love? On the contrary : PSALMODY

6-down – Greek campaigner gets a German agreement, sealed with a kiss : AJAX

7-down – Asked for paper in conclusion : ENQUIRED

8-down – Said compiler’s going to Skye? : ISLE

13-down – See 19 across : HOUSE

15-down – Broke, alas, and ruined with no money : UNSALARIED

16-down – See 17 : SOUND

18-down – Homer’s work reported how the divine is justified : THEODICY

19-down – A room to have often uniquely screened European premieres : ARTHOUSE

22-down – Finally, smile is included in English service in return for the magic word : SESAME

23-down – See 27 : COBAIN

24-down – Member of the 27 25 sees chicken cross one road back onto the first motorway junction? : JIMI

25-down – Staff card : CLUB

27-down – Weekend incubator prepared for member of the 27 25 : KURT

1-across – 23’s work broadcast by name, for love trebly complicated : AROOMOF

5-across – 23’s work for setter : ORLANDO

9-across – See 12 : TRAIN

10-across – Languor shown by celebrity dog around the house, or not : LASSITUDE

11-across – See 26 : LIGHTHOUSE

12-across – Rolling stock with old tat possibly kept in mind : BOAT

14-across – Abomination of clans aiming for Sassenach religious principles? : ANGLICANISM

18-across – Artist filling glass with contrived clue, not entirely funny : PAULCEZANNE

21-across – Crafty hint involving a minimum of tact : CUTE

22-across – Tool hit me, breaking instrument in half : CLAWHAMMER

25-across – Very high ground is almost covering island : ALTISSIMO

26-across – 23’s work, little one: entering climax, conclusion of novel hard to follow, where 23 ended : TOTHE

27-across – See 1 : ONESOWN

28-across – Cross about assent of parliament, went briefly on the attack : FORAYED

1-down – Old king is a real help on the water, say? : ATTILA

2-down – Second of colours on the spectrum : ORANGE

3-down – RC vessel taking RC’s name, not surprisingly : MONSTRANCE

4-down – Edge cut in 9 sheet : FOLIO

5-down – Youngster not quite standing with sitting fetish : OBSESSION

6-down – Retreat with ability, but no leadership : LAIR

7-down – In the end, surgeon has treated serious 5 down : NEUROSIS

8-down – Further work apparent, I’m heading for exit : OVERTIME

13-down – Y chromosome the culprit? : MALEFACTOR

15-down – Lookin’ to preserve fuel, petrol finally having gone up a huge amount : GAZILLION

16-down – Image in jazz then nothing like notes from a bouncing violin bow : SPICCATO

17-down – Second name — delicate about it : SUBTITLE

19-down – Forger not wanting to be seen around university : SMITHY

20-down – Familiar nutcracker finally cracking nut : FRIEND

23-down – Observation from setter capturing heart of freelance author : WOOLF

24-down – Capital card game, first couple twisting? : OSLO