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The ITV Panto is a series of televised pantomimes originally broadcast on ITV in 1998, 2000, and 2002, and have been repeated for over the last 20 years since they were filmed. All written by Simon Nye, they included an array of celebrities playing the lead roles.
(In order of original broadcast date)
All the main roles in each pantomime were played by well-known celebrities, some of whom became regular players, some major celebrities also made cameo appearances. Paul Merton and Julian Clary are the only people to appear in all four while Harry Hill and Griff Rhys Jones have appeared in two shows.
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Aladdin | |
| Aladdin | Ed Byrne |
| Genie of the Lamp | Julian Clary |
| Abanazer | Martin Clunes |
| Princess Jasmine | Patsy Kensit |
| Wishee Washee | Ralf Little |
| Spirit of the Ring | Paul Merton |
| Widow Twankey | John Savident |
| Police chief | Billy Murray |
| Prince Hugely Suave | Leslie Phillips |
| Emperor | Griff Rhys Jones |
| Handy | Lisa Riley |
| Themselves | S Club 7 |
| High Priestess | Meera Syal |
| Themself (Cameo - uncredited) | Trisha Goddard |
| Cinderella | |
| Cinderella | Samantha Womack |
| Buttons | Frank Skinner |
| Evil Baroness | Siân Phillips |
| Griselda | Ronnie Corbett |
| Lucretia | Paul Merton |
| Dandini | Ben Miller |
| The Good Fairy | Julian Clary |
| Prince Charming | Alexander Armstrong |
| Master of Ceremonies | Harry Hill |
| Dick Whittington | |
| Dick Whittington | Kevin Bishop |
| Queen of Tonga | Amanda Barrie |
| Chris the Cat | Julian Clary |
| Mrs Fitzwarren | Vanessa Feltz |
| Alderman Fitzwarren | James Fleet |
| Themselves | Hear'Say |
| The Painter | Harry Hill |
| The Good Fairy | Jessica Hynes |
| Idle Jack | Lee Mack |
| Tricky Pete | Paul Merton |
| The Mayor | Sanjeev Bhaskar |
| Maid of Tonga | Tina O'Brien |
| Alice Fitzwarren | Debra Stephenson |
| King Rat | Mark Williams |
| Sally the Cook | Richard Wilson |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | |
| Jack | Neil Morrissey |
| Dame Dolly | Adrian Edmondson |
| Baron Wasteland | Griff Rhys Jones |
| Jill | Denise van Outen |
| Goldilocks | Morwenna Banks |
| Fairy Godmother | Julie Walters |
| First Henchman/Tim | Julian Clary |
| Second Henchman | Peter Serafinowicz |
| Harp | Will Barton |
| Cow | Vince Williams |
| John Willett | |
| Narrator | Paul Merton |
Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including numerous pantomimes. He was the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in 2012.
Amanda Barrie is an English actress. She appeared in two of the Carry On films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, which she played on and off for 20 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she played the role of Bev Tull in the ITV prison drama, Bad Girls. She has since enjoyed a varied stage and television career.
Timothy Mark Vine is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom Not Going Out. He has also released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has written several joke books.
Shane Patrick Paul Roche, known as Shane Richie, is an English actor, comedian, presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the character Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders and then in its spin-off RTÉ Drama Redwater in 2017. In 2020, he appeared on the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here and finished in fourth place.
Todd Carty, also known as Todd John Jennings, is an actor and director who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage appearances have ranged from serious drama to pantomime, and he has worked on radio plays, voiceovers, commercials, narrations and films. He is best known for TV roles as Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill (1978–1982) and Tucker's Luck (1983–1985), Mark Fowler in EastEnders (1990–2003), and PC Gabriel Kent in The Bill (2003–2005).
Robin Mark Askwith is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions.
Fern Britton is an English television presenter and author. She co-presented Breakfast Time in the 1980s and hosted the cookery game show Ready Steady Cook between 1994 and 2000 on BBC Two.
Brian Paul Conley is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of The Brian Conley Show, as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-year television career, he has starred in multiple award-winning television sitcoms including Time After Time and The Grimleys.
Christopher Biggins is an English actor and television presenter.
Ryan Moloney is an Australian actor, known for his portrayal of the fictional character Jarrod "Toadfish" Rebecchi in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 1995 until his departure in 2024.
John Partridge is an English actor, dancer, singer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008. He has worked extensively as a singer and dancer in musical theatre, portraying Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.
Buttons is a traditional character in Cinderella pantomimes, and is commonly portrayed in Cinderella pantomimes throughout the UK and Australia. He is typically a male servant of the household who helps Cinderella and loves her, and who is liked and trusted but not loved by her. The character has sometimes been called Pedro.
Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and presenter, known for portraying Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series Gavin & Stacey. She played Dora Spenlow in the 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield, and featured as Just Judy in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. She currently co-presents the BBC One consumer series Shop Well for Less. In 2023, Page joined Loose Women as a regular panellist.
Simon Nye is an English screenwriter, best known for television comedy. He wrote the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film Flushed Away, created an adaptation of Richmal Crompton's Just William books in 2010, and wrote the drama series The Durrells.
Martin Christopher Jarvis is an English actor, presenter and writer who has appeared mainly on children's television for the BBC since 1992, apart from 2000 to 2002 when he was working with ITV and Channel 4. In 2019, he started a radio station for children called Little Radio.
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland, who at the time was also owner of the King's Theatre in Hammersmith and had owned the Theatre Metropole in Camberwell in the 1890's. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds, the theatre was designed by Cecil Aubrey Massey and Roy Young. It seems to have been the only British theatre to have included a Victorian-style Turkish bath in the basement. The theatre opened on 26 December 1910 with the pantomime Jack and Jill.
The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a receiving house for touring musicals, dance, comedy and circus-type performances. The theatre also provides a prominent stage for local amateur productions. The King's Theatre also stages an annual pantomime, produced by First Family Entertainment. The theatre is currently operated by ATG Entertainment, under a lease from Glasgow City Council who own the building.
John Joseph Linehan, MBE is an Irish entertainer, most known for his drag queen character May McFettridge. Linehan has, in character, been a long-running feature on local radio and television, as well as a regular pantomime dame.
Sidney Sloane is a British actor, and television presenter. Born to Afro-Caribbean parents, he grew up in the Wandsworth and Wimbledon borders of South London. He attended Southmead Primary School and John R.C. Secondary School.
Anne Solway Hegerty is an English professional quizzer and television personality. Since 2010, she has been a "chaser" on the ITV game show The Chase as "The Governess", and was a contestant on the 2018 series of the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
