Oh yes it is! Panto stars talk ahead of shows across West Midlands

The biggest show in town is at Birmingham’s Genting Arena where David Essex will star alongside Martine McCutcheon in a spectacular production of Elf – A Christmas Spectacular.

David is a born performer and enjoys featuring in shows now as much as when he was enjoying number one hits, decades ago. “It’s just the same, I love it just as much.”

The chance to feature in Elf was an opportunity that he jumped at: “It’s going to be very spectacular. It’ll be a very warm show, you know. It’ll be great for families. The production is huge. There’ll be flying sleighs and I’ll be intrigued to see how it all comes together.

“It was an easy decision to make when they asked me because I know the team behind it. I read the script and knew I was in. It looked like fun. These days, there are very few things I say yes to but there are a lot of things I say no to. But with Elf, I immediately said yes and I’ll look forward to it.

“The family will all be there for this and they’re all excited by it. The grandkids and the kids, they’ll all be up for this one. You get to a stage where you do things for family. With this, the family will like it so I’m happy to do it.”

Elf has already become the fastest selling Christmas show this year after more than 30,000 tickets were snapped up in the first three weeks of being on sale, prompting show producers to add extra tickets to all performances at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena.

The gigantic arena show features incredible special effects including a giant sleigh flying across the arena, an indoor snow blizzard, an iceberg journey and an amazing cast of 100 performers including up to 70 children from local Pauline Quirke Academies for each show.

Peter Pan will be this year’s pantomime at Birmingham Hippodrome and Jimmy Osmond will be one of the stars of the show, alongside Matt Slack and Meera Syal.

Jimmy is no stranger to Birmingham. “It feels like I’m home. I’ve been here on various productions but this is my most exciting. It’s my eighth panto and this is the biggest one there is. I don’t know what I’m going to do when this is over. I just fell in love with this city.”

Featuring in the pantomime at the Hippodrome is a dream job for Jimmy, who rates it as the best production in the UK.

“You always want to be in the best in a particular category. And as far as pantomimes, Birmingham

Hippodrome just does such a huge job. So this has always been a place that I’d hoped I’d be asked to play and now here I am. I’m a small part of being a big show.”

Jimmy will play the baddie, a role he’s looking forward to.

“Those good guys were fun but not nearly as much fun as being the baddie. This is my second time as Hook. I think maybe all those years of pent up frustration just comes out when I play the baddie.”

“It’s all down to the audience. I think what’s cool is when you’ve sung songs so many times that they are almost like muscle memory: they’re there. And when you reach that point you can forget about it and just focus on the people. When you do that, there’s a different relationship because people feel like we’re here for them rather than the other way round.”

Strictly Come Dancing star Debbie McGee will be the star turn in this year’s Grand Theatre pantomime at Wolverhampton. She’ll feature in Sleeping Beauty, with Ian Adams and Sooty.

The pantomime of dreams will mark a welcome return to the stage for Debbie, who dazzled in last year’s Strictly.

“I love panto and I’ve been to the Wolverhampton Grand a few times for work. When I’ve been to Wolverhampton before, however, it’s always been for one night and then I’ve moved on.

“But I do really enjoy the theatre, it’s such a beautiful place, and I’ve also got lots of friends in the area. I have family that live nearby too and whenever I’m in that area I always find the people are so warm and friendly. So, yes, I’m really looking forward to it.

“When I do panto, I stand on the side of the stage and I can’t wait to get on and do my turn. I can’t explain that excitement. It’s like going to the best party every performance. You know, it’s Christmas and the atmosphere from everybody, not just the kids, is so warm. So I just get drawn into that.

She loved appearing in Strictly Come Dancing and has only happy memories. “It’s really hard work but it’s also very rewarding. When I came into showbusiness, Strictly was the type of show that got me in. It’s glamorous and you’re learning something every day.

“The other thing is that the people on the show all want you to do well. From the runners who get your coffee to the producers, they’re all out for your good. I felt like the movie stars must have when they had people running around for them. Everyone on that team is so special and lovely. At my age, I was allowed to show what I was made of, which was a remarkable opportunity.”