| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MEGASTAR | |
| Big celebrity game excited retired whistle-blowers (8) | Anagram of GAME + (RATS reversed) | |
| 5 | FATHOM | |
| Get to the bottom of large dwelling not quite finished (6) | FAT + (HOM)E | |
| 9 | SPARE | |
| Inclusions offered by ISP aren’t free (5) | iSP AREnt | |
| 10 | COMMANDER | |
| A person in charge mostly, as well as the Queen? (9) | (COMM)A + AND + ER | |
| 12 | INITIATION | |
| Debut, it is cut short in one race (10) | (ITI)S inside (I + NATION) | |
| 13 | BOIL | |
| See red, inflamed swelling (4) | Double Definition | |
| 15 | HEADLOCK | |
| Hold moulding of lead with white coating (8) | Anagram of LEAD inside HOCK | |
| 17 | I’LL SAY | |
| Medical problems? Any not connected to heart? Yes, indeed! (3,3) | ILLS + A(n)Y | |
| 20 | CERISE | |
| Red ace played, ignoring a financial reward (6) | (ACE minus A) + RISE | |
| 22 | FIREWOOD | |
| Food containing broken pieces of wire – it should be burnt (8) | FOOD outside anagram of WIRE | |
| 26 | TEAT | |
| Milky substance usually obtained by opening of the nipple (4) | TEA + (T)HE | |
| 27 | INDECISION | |
| Hesitancy duet oddly displayed during opening (10) | (D)U(E)T inside INCISION | |
| 29 | APOCRYPHA | |
| A Father, about to weep, has not finished religious books (9) | (A + POP) outside CRY + (HA)S | |
| 30 | TRAIT | |
| Narrow channel with no original feature (5) | S(TRAIT) | |
| 31 | LITANY | |
| Long recital fired up some (6) | LIT + ANY | |
| 32 | HEAD LICE | |
| Treat very cold water containing 500 parasitic bugs (4,4) | (HEAL + ICE) outside D | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MESSIAH | |
| Expected deliverer is set up by one operating in network (7) | [(IS reversed) + A] inside MESH | |
| 2 | GRANITA | |
| Coarse sand mixed with an aggregate, primarily, and broken ice (7) | GRIT outside AN + (A)GGREGATE | |
| 3 | SPECIALIST | |
| Moulded plastic is probed by energy expert (10) | Anagram of PLASTIC IS outside E | |
| 4 | ASCETICS | |
| Reformed caste is infiltrated by leader of Christian monks, say (8) | Anagram of CASTE + [IS outside (C)HRISTIAN] | |
| 6 | AFAR | |
| A passenger who pays to travel mostly from a great distance (4) | A + (FAR)E | |
| 7 | HIDEOUS | |
| Monstrous shelter built by occupants of house? (7) | HIDE + h(OUS)e | |
| 8 | MORALLY | |
| Fairly short time to recover (7) | MO + RALLY | |
| 11 | MOON | |
| Growth of hair on bare behind? (4) | MO + ON | |
| 14 | ALLEVIATED | |
| Everyone fed in sleazy place turned up relieved (10) | ALL + [ATE inside (DIVE reversed)] | |
| 16 | EYE | |
| Part of a needle, yes? (3) | needlE YEs | |
| 18 | ADO | |
| Trouble caused by a gathering (3) | A + DO | |
| 19 | AIREDALE | |
| Dog publicised beer (8) | AIRED + ALE | |
| 20 | CATCALL | |
| Something designed to deal with anything except hard criticism (7) | CATCHALL minus H | |
| 21 | READ-OUT | |
| Information retrieved by each detective in hiding (4-3) | (EA + D) inside ROUT | |
| 23 | ORIGAMI | |
| Styling of paper – Times – not accepted by distracted mitigator? (7) | Anagram of MITIGATOR minus (T + T) | |
| 24 | DINETTE | |
| Unruly characters in detention missing out on a place to eat (7) | Anagram of DETENTION minus ON | |
| 25 | SNAP | |
| Follows an object with a camera, coming back with photograph (4) | PANS reversed | |
| 28 | GRIN | |
| Mill shortened beam (4) | (GRIN)D |
10a The penny finally dropped on the parsing. I persisted in ignoring the punctuation mark.
This now must move to my personal champion clue for this puzzle.
26a I did not join the discussion on this clue. I had some reservations, but acknowledged that the tea I drink looks milky. White appears to be the drink of choice amongst most of my friends and acquaintances.