1-across – Heartless pang : ELEPHANTGRASS

8-across – April-May zodiac beast : BULL

9-across – Final work : SWANSONG

10-across – Stocking securer : GARTERBELT

12-across – Long length of material fashioned as headdress : TURBAN

14-across – ‘Hug a ___’ : HOODIE

15-across – Upholstery component : FOAMRUBBER

19-across – Stone – intractable person or organisation : MONOLITH

20-across – One who sleeps in the savannah : LION

21-across – Fixed : NONNEGOTIABLE

2-down – Samuel Taylor Coleridge narcotic : LAUDANUM

3-down – Pen manufacturer – hovercraft operator : PILOT

4-down – Not a medallist : ALSORAN

5-down – <span>‘Neath : THANE

6-down – Italian grain-and-stock staple : RISOTTO

7-down – Let that ___ in : SINK

11-down – Scouring material : WIREWOOL

13-down – Twerp : BUFFOON

14-down – Item worn by a politician on a building-site photo-op : HARDHAT

16-down – Scoring a hole-in-one or nailing : ACING

17-down – Model-maker’s light wood : BALSA

18-down – Shirt,mint or pony : POLO

1-across – In an em-baa-rassed fashion? : SHEEPISHLY

7-across – NB : TAKENOTE

8-across – <span>Word before ‘handclap’,‘cooker’ or </span><i>Horses</i> : SLOW

9-across – Paradise : EDEN

10-across – Tie vine : INVITEE

12-across – School subject that has its pluses and minuses : MATHEMATICS

14-across – Like paper without lines : UNRULED

16-across – Pursues – let sleeping ones lie : DOGS

19-across – <span>Hollow – </span><i>Hitchhiker</i><span>’s Arthur</span> : DENT

20-across – Amaze : BLOWAWAY

21-across – Body of water between Jura Mountains and Alps : LAKEGENEVA

1-down – Climb : SCALE

2-down – e.g. einsteinium or lawrencium : ELEMENT

3-down – Trudge – PC? : PLOD

4-down – Piano-builder Henry Engelhard : STEINWAY

5-down – Indian yoghurt drink : LASSI

6-down – Becomes serious – Sir Garfield who scored over 8,000 runs : SOBERS

11-down – Look like : RESEMBLE

12-down – Dame Hilary : MANTEL

13-down – Air gone : IRONAGE

15-down – <span>Chris van Tulleken book </span><i>___-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?</i> : ULTRA

17-down – Milan’s La ___ opera house : SCALA

18-down – Tip-top : AONE

1-across – Airport shop : DUTYFREE

5-across – In this way : THUS

9-across – Oxeye / Michaelmas flower : DAISY

10-across – Having lost weight – painter’s fluid : THINNER

11-across – Poled illumination source : STANDARDLAMP

13-across – Attack by surprise : AMBUSH

14-across – I am disappointed! : DEARME

17-across – Fond of arguing : DISPUTATIOUS

20-across – Belonging to times long past : ANCIENT

21-across – Music genre – ingrained dirt : GRIME

22-across – Word sometimes confused with ‘fewer’ : LESS

23-across – Develop as an acquaintance : BEFRIEND

1-down – Clumsy extinct Mauritian : DODO

2-down – Type of washing machine : TWINTUB

3-down – So-called variety of UFO : FLYINGSAUCER

4-down – Bonuses – those in crowd scenes : EXTRAS

6-down – Reddish pigment : HENNA

7-down – Removed paint or clothing : STRIPPED

8-down – Raising this is rude : MIDDLEFINGER

12-down – Hold this while ascending the stairs : HANDRAIL

15-down – Comic’s act – humdrum : ROUTINE

16-down – <i>Being and Nothingness</i><span> writer</span> : SARTRE

18-down – Items for school-fête races : SACKS

19-down – Unit of sweat : BEAD

5-across – What an alchemist sought to turn to gold : BASEMETAL

8-across – Church fixture – typeface : FONT

9-across – ‘Sin City’ : LASVEGAS

10-across – Waldorf salad ingredient : CELERY

11-across – Scientific journal since 1869 : NATURE

13-across – Cat who’ll catch vermin : MOUSER

15-across – Eucalyptus munchers : KOALAS

16-across – Mare / stag : MEGASTAR

18-across – Vichyssoise vegetable : LEEK

19-across – 14 Feb figure : VALENTINE

1-down – Sleep on it! : MATTRESS

2-down – Multiple songs in one : MEDLEY

3-down – Battle of the Nile Rear-Admiral : NELSON

4-down – <i>I Got You,___</i><span> or </span><i>It Ain’t Me,___</i> : BABE

6-down – One to emulate : ROLEMODEL

7-down – One performs part of the service but is not ordained : LAYREADER

12-down – Bangkok’s country : THAILAND

14-down – Apple,borough or luck : ROTTEN

15-down – Pogues pal MacColl,e.g. : KIRSTY

17-down – <i>Moby-Dick</i><span> captain</span> : AHAB

1-across – Manchester’s Hallé or ABC Sinfonia,e.g. : ORCHESTRA

8-across – 1977 orphan musical : ANNIE

9-across – Latin American instrument resembling a xylophone : MARIMBA

10-across – Peeper cosmetic : EYELINER

11-across – Spice – club : MACE

13-across – Taiwan capital : TAIPEI

14-across – ‘SOS!’ : MAYDAY

16-across – <i>Murder on the Orient Express </i><span>actor Penélope</span> : CRUZ

17-across – Spew hope : PEEPSHOW

19-across – Heraldic beast symbolising Scotland : UNICORN

20-across – Axis,bear or opposite : POLAR

21-across – Inserts AI : SANITISER

1-down – Unfair – unilateral : ONESIDED

2-down – PC Mole : COMPEL

3-down – Cross-the-Channel currency : EURO

4-down – After-hours rate,sometimes : TIMEANDAHALF

5-down – Oscar : ACADEMYAWARD

6-down – They seek new entertainers or sportspeople : TALENTSCOUTS

7-down – Invite landau : ANTEDILUVIAN

12-down – Audible Scot : BAGPIPER

15-down – <i>Neighbours</i><span>’ Stefan or the </span><i>Beano</i><span>’s menace</span> : DENNIS

18-down – Usain – what he does : BOLT