1-across – Murky ratholes housing black anteater : SLOTHBEAR

6-across – A game breeder : STUD

10-across – Eighteenth channel, perhaps, running back from an organ : RENAL

11-across – See mistake, reduced cost next to nothing : BISHOPRIC

12-across – Privileged individual in communist is revolutionary : INSIDER

13-across – Getting all those in attendance into shelter, one succeeds : LEGATEE

14-across – US concert venue, Spooner’s pit for all-singing, all-dancing entertainment? : HOLLYWOODBOWL

17-across – Boycott’s indomitable spirit, perhaps, that keeps Bradford’s roads passable in winter? : YORKSHIREGRIT

21-across – Why the punishment? : WHATFOR

22-across – Duck stuffed with trimmings of roast deer cooked for a stickler for naval etiquette? : QUARTER

24-across – Perception of physical attributes failing to impress Amy, I suspect? : BODYIMAGE

25-across – Fashionable to write crosswords as a secondary newspaper feature? : INSET

26-across – Get some stick? : TWIG

27-across – Damage is down to a tree : SATINWOOD

1-down – Reliable hand : STRAIGHT

2-down – Napoleon’s speech in breaking sanctions : OINKS

3-down – Surgery on thyroid and facial features primarily cause of congestion? : HOLIDAYTRAFFIC

4-down – Restriction that’s overturned nothing to excite me : EMBARGO

5-down – Corrosion was in the van, so took stock : RUSTLED

7-down – Detail the villain squeezing lightly at first, as strangler : THROTTLER

8-down – See 22 : DECKER

9-down – Paul helping to support Central African area, welcoming opening of land mass : CONGLOMERATION

15-down – Natural sunblock ideally in jars : LEYLANDII

16-down – Wind I treated, repeated! : ITERATED

18-down – Better proposition under squire, every so often : SURPASS

19-down – Hearing top foreign number, undaunted, Eurovision songstress timidly starts : INQUEST

20-down – Singer’s inspiring front lifted, appearing cheap : TWOBIT

23-down – Chain exhibited in magistrates’ court : TESCO

1-across – A 28 visit Greek 20 to grow together : ACCRETE

5-across – Catholics disparagingly said to be sanctimonious in earlier times : PAPISTS

9-across – Billy’s relatives attempt a way back : GOATS

10-across – Ban writing in bed? On the contrary : PROSCRIBE

11-across – Drug-fuelled Madness member into mad idea : SUGGESTION

12-across – See 6 : FAIR

14-across – Personifying two setters, vocalise strangled cat on record : EPITOMISING

18-across – Heaving cleavage in front of large, born-again Christian? : EVANGELICAL

21-across – Related to 9’s leader, this 6 is 13’s top one : KING

22-across – Bill has one horse? Not the case for bums : POSTERIORS

25-across – Runner, last of four to get TV role : ANCHORMAN

26-across – Grub of spectacular variety : LARVA

27-across – Some guts by cricket side to go in first : ENTERON

28-across – See 24 : HUNDRED

1-down – Grand Emperor’s ignoring us : AUGUST

2-down – Where Father Ted was caught with raging gays, darling : CRAGGY

3-down – Seasonal fare in 8, cooked by galley slave originally : EASTEREGGS

4-down – Old Irishman, one living abroad : EXPAT

5-down – New Cypriot zoo lacks one unknown type of primitive animal : PROTOZOIC

6-down – Annual event for the Irish setter : PUCK

7-down – Indian hunters trek endlessly in their women’s clothes : SHIKARIS

8-down – Emasculated creature facing eternity where the poor Titanic passengers nightly lay : STEERAGE

13-down – Place in West of Kerry one left rolling drunk? : KILLORGLIN

15-down – Some final changes for a 20 : ISLEOFMAN

16-down – Audacity shown by Bill wearing the French woman’s jewellery : NECKLACE

17-down – Wood panelling of cask cut in two, accidentally : WAINSCOT

19-down – Wrong route, right car : TOURER

20-down – See 2 : ISLAND

23-down – Fraction of wine used by hotel : TENTH

24-down – Odd bits of invective needed — for this CD, that is : FOUR

1-across – 26 — and not bad : NORMAL

5-across – One thing put on another, as brains turn into fruit : APPLIQUE

9-across – 26 only about part of bishopric : MEDIOCRE

10-across – Gold told of song at sunrise : AUBADE

11-across – Kill flies? It sounds like hard work : SWAT

12-across – Make friends with bird eating French fruit? On the contrary : FRATERNISE

13-across – Make-up artist using a chemical modifier : ATONER

14-across – Land of the revolution: I have lost my short-sightedness : ETHIOPIA

16-across – Scriptures prescribe slowdown in theatrical margins : WRITINGS

19-across – Attack on bill : CHARGE

21-across – Bend connected with small piece : REFRACTION

23-across – Follower with story to tell : TAIL

24-across – 26 sense with fishy sound : COMMON

25-across – Sun in ceiling? : SKYLIGHT

26-across – Golden record entered by new bishop : ORDINARY

27-across – Cheat American guy, inserting Spanish article : DELUDE

2-down – Said to have acquired chopper when on the rocks : ONETWOTHREEFOUR

3-down – Give licking to setter with gun : MOISTEN

4-down – Devil at home possessed by glow-worms : LUCIFERIN

5-down – Say how old is 26 : AVERAGE

6-down – See 24 : PLACE

7-down – Icon smashed without prohibition by full judicial authority : INBANCO

8-down – 26 lingerie, say, with money I was effusive about : UNDISTINGUISHED

15-down – 26 East End journalist : HACKNEYED

17-down – Obstructions to first of the parallelograms twisted at the top : THROMBI

18-down – Accidents with liquid reported near Lindsey town : SPILSBY

20-down – Name kept by writer Diana for raised nest : ANTHILL

22-down – Conspirator sounded like a bad guy : CINNA

9-across – Love, old — nevertheless getting into punt : BETHOUGHT

10-across – Part of poem’s affected style of speech and poetic interjection : CANTO

11-across – Endless row backing housing chief’s main descendant : SCION

12-across – Dyed-in-the-wool Conservative spiking Labour, ie swapping nitrogen for oxygen : INCURABLE

13-across – Disturbance makes state chamber musicians tense : PATRIOT

14-across – Like a male ballroom dancer requesting no piano? : LEADING

17-across – Two Russian doll-like articles between freeman and noble : THANE

19-across – See 8 : FOR

20-across – Slight inversion round fang tip preferred by Dracula : NIGHT

21-across – Student’s touching approach? : HANDSON

22-across – Be thankful for indulgent sort at bar : JOBLESS

24-across – Little animal, little weight, littlest one attended by Erica? : GRUNTLING

26-across – The beast within lives for a sartorial feature : LAPEL

28-across – Doctors reckon thousand lost : ONCER

29-across – Lloyd who dithers about love deal? : HOLLYWOOD

1-down – Leggy creature’s independent musical direction : IBIS

2-down – Before court cut short stir-crazy tough : STRICT

3-down – Flowers, jar version, collapsed : JOANRIVERS

4-down – Prejudicial to those getting on revolving stage without electric current : AGEIST

5-down – Line taken by persistent sort : STICKLER

6-down – Slasher’s legacy: second estate? : SCAR

7-down – Flash stuff in Bengal circles : ENABLING

8-down – Finished taming ego of Gordon : GONE

13-down – Pressure put on naff chat shows piece : PATCH

15-down – Lebanon produced and raised New York State’s ultimate old queen : ANNEBOLEYN

16-down – Good shot sorted out invaders : GOTHS

18-down – Article: neuter cat for a fraction of a pound : ANNOUNCE

19-down – Window nut, easily moved : FANLIGHT

22-down – Keep recycling articles as an entertainer? : JUGGLE

23-down – Take on Scouse MP, loyalist at heart : EMPLOY

24-down – See 8 : GOOD

25-down – Salt neutral lake : TARN

27-down – Title song about diamonds : LADY

1-across – Neutered drink at work sent back without a smile : POFACED

5-across – Concealing weapon, did stretch : DISTEND

9-across – Present monarch on holiday? : OFFER

10-across – Gelignite initially captive entered under explosive : GUNPOWDER

11-across – 30 — lime duck : THIRDTIMELUCKY

13-across – Dubious topping of little moment : IFFY

14-across – Miles of Longfellow came in first and is heroic : STANDISH

17-across – One working in theatre becomes redder in the face about corporal punishment : PRODUCER

18-across – Erode resistance of upland under river : WEAR

21-across – Actor : THESPREADEAGLE

23-across – Dress with skill having scope for residence : HABITABLE

24-across – Refuse collector to leave house : BINGO

25-across – Student’s first request for insecticide? : SPRAYER

26-across – Time and cause that never prospers? : TREASON

1-down – Piece of land as pawn to fate? : PLOT

2-down – When to 16 10 26 and 1 down and fob off the vermin with tinkering : FIFTHOFNOVEMBER

3-down – Copper finds unusual poison : CURARE

4-down – Fingers said to be missing third? : DIGITS

5-down – Explosive speech showing possibilities of one in restaurant? : DYNAMITE

6-down – White area over here for second bird in 9 : SNOWLINE

7-down – Dormice with heart reduced cooked in country’s blood suppliers : ENDOCRINEGLANDS

8-down – Racehorse in place of rams? : DERBYSHIRE

12-down – They may mention kills : DISPATCHES

15-down – Work with strings attached on dog, nothing less than the best words : PUPPETRY

16-down – Bring to mind what concerns parliamentarian? : REMEMBER

19-down – What will publicise opening of season : ADVENT

20-down – Chance of good walk? : GAMBLE

22-down – See 18 : DOWN