Can you cook your Christmas dinner in a slow cooker?

With some retailers in the UK reporting sales of slow cookers up by a third, it appears we are rediscovering this 1970s' favourite.

We decided to see whether it was possible to cook a whole turkey in a slow cooker, testing the gadget's claims of being effortless and time-saving.

Slow cookers themselves use very little energy, about the same as a traditional lightbulb, according to price comparison website uSwitch, and free up your oven for all the extra bits that go with Christmas dinner.

So, did we end up with a bland and tasteless turkey or one which was full of flavour and fit for a Christmas centrepiece?