More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
If ever you wonder just why there are such star-studded line-ups in pantomimes, you may wish to lift the curtain to get an idea of just how much the stars of the big shows get paid.
Without naming names, some of the top talent which have graced Kent's stages during the panto season collect six-figures sums for what generally amounts to no more than two months' work.
It's not to be sniffed at, but then neither is the impact of the panto phenomenon to theatres across the county.
Many theatres still rely on it to deliver a sizeable chunk of their annual revenues - using the family-friendly performances to help support a more culturally varied programme during the rest of the year.
Find out why Maidstone panto was cancelled this year
But the one thing all are painfully aware of is is that celebrity sells. And while that can come at a high cost, the returns can be considerable.
If you're paying £100,000 to a big name, you need to be certain they have the pulling power to generate considerably more in ticket revenues.
And Kent has certainly seen plenty of big names tread the boards over the years. We take a look at some of the most memorable.
George Takei
Better known as one of the key original cast members of sci-fi classic Star Trek, the man behind Mr Sulu was a huge coup for Chatham's Central Theatre in 2009. In fact, you could say, our expectation phasers were set to stun.
Performing in his first panto for 15 years, he beamed down to the production as the Emperor of China in Aladdin.
He had been encouraged to sign up after befriending 2008 star, Joe Swash, when the two appeared in I'm A Celebrity together.
Norman Wisdom
One of Britain's best-loved comics, the movie star was a sprightly 73 when he appeared at Dartford's 1988 panto at the Orchard Theatre, Cinderella, alongside model Linda Lusardi. He was, perhaps not surprisingly, Buttons, complete with jaunty cap. He was no stranger to the medium, performing regularly for many years around the country.
Barbara Windsor
From her bikini top pinging off into Kenneth Williams' face in the Carry On movies to running the Queen Vic in EastEnders, Barbara Windsor has supplemented her TV and film work with a lot of panto over her long career.
One of which was in 1995 when she starred in Cinderella at Dartford's Orchard. She'd previously performed at the venue in 1984 alongside TV and radio stalwart Nicholas Parsons and former EastEnders and Grange Hill star Todd Carty.
Vanilla Ice
The thought of the man who once topped the chart with Ice Ice Baby donning tights was not an obvious one.
But fair play to Chatham's Central Theatre when they got the US rapper to perform as Captain Hook in its 2011 production of Peter Pan.
He arrived for rehearsals 10 days before the performance started - and admitted he was still only halfway through the script when he arrived to meet fellow cast members.
Clive Dunn
Immortalised, perhaps forever, as the bungling Lance Corporal Jones in the classic Dad's Army, those with long memories will remember he also proved a hit as children's character Grandad. And it was in that role he performed at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells in 1984, topping the bill in Babes in the Wood. It was the year Grandad was cancelled by the BBC leaving Dunn to move to Portugal.
Adrian Edmondson
For a generation, Ade Edmondson was part of a comedy movement which defined an era. From the Young Ones to Blackadder, Bottom and the Comic Strip, he holds a special place in the heart of many. So it was something of a surprise when he performed as Captain Hook at the Marlowe in Canterbury's temporary 'big tent' in 2009. Wife Jennifer Saunders paid a visit to watch him in action.
Brian Blessed
The thought of Brian Blessed in pantomime may be too much for many to imagine. But with that booming voice he was perhaps perfectly cast as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Dartford's Orchard back in 2003. Unsurprisingly, it proved a big hit with audiences, surpassing expectations at the box office.
Soaps
It's something of a surprise any soaps get filmed over the festive season as so many of the stars head to theatres.
If you're willing to take a custard pie or indulge in a bit of slapstick silliness, there's a place for you.
For those who remember Neighbours back in its late 1980s and 1990s heyday, Qantas flights from Melbourne became packed with familiar faces swapping the sun and beaches for a chilly, but well paid, Christmas in the county.
Among the many names who came here were the likes of Natalie Imbruglia (who played Beth Brennan before embarking on a singing career). She performed in Canterbury in 1993.
Mark Little (Joe Mangel) was at the Stag in Sevenoaks for Snow White in 2003 while Ryan Maloney (Toadfish) couldn't get enough of Kent pantos, with a turn at the Marlowe in 2005 and the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks in 2014.
If the Queen Vic's takings are down over December it will be as a result of panto.
Over the years, we've had pretty much the full cast it seems. From Leslie Grantham (Dirty Den) in Mother Goose in Sevenoaks, Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) at Dartford, Shane Richie (Alfie Moon) at the same venue, Melissa Suffield (Lucy Beale) at Maidstone's Hazlitt and, of course Kent's Shaun Williamson (Barry Evans) at shows in Canterbury, Chatham and Tunbridge Wells.
Ricky Groves (Garry Hobbs) has starred in Margate and Maidstone pantos, since he quit the soap, Sam Womack (Ronnie Branning) was in Canterbury in 2013, Nicholas Bailey (Anthony Trueman) was in Cinderella in Gravesend in 2003 and, of course, Richard Blackwood (Vincent Hubbard) appears at the Hazlitt this winter.
We would be here all night listing the stars of everything from Coronation Street, Home and Away, Brookside, Prisoner Cell Block H to Emmerdale. Suffice it to say, there have been plenty. For better or for worse.
Pop stars
If you were being mean, you could say no pop star on top of their game would be in panto. Not when they could be looking cool being screamed at in some large arena. And you would probably be right. But when the screaming stops, panto offers a good option.
Perhaps not surprisingly given that two of them live in the county, the stars of Bucks Fizz are panto regulars. Cheryl Baker has performed in Sevenoaks and at the Tower Theatre in Folkestone - the same venue Mike Nolan has strutted his stuff in recent years.
Irish group Bewitched were at Gravesend's Woodville Hall in 2015, while the late Boyzone star Stephen Gately performed in the Wizard of Oz in Canterbury in 2006 - although admittedly a spring panto. His band mate, Shane Lynch, is a regular having performed at Gravesend, Chatham and Sevenoaks over the last 10 years.
RnB stars Cleopatra have been at the Stag for the last two years.
Reality TV shows have delivered plenty of panto fodder - perhaps most notably Gareth Gates who has been at Canterbury's Marlowe - the same venue frequented on more than one occasion by former punk Toyah.
And, of course, this year sees former Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow in Aladdin in Dartford.
