The stage is set for the return of panto to The Central Theatre and the actors are all raring to go.

Festive shows across the country were cancelled last year when most of England went into Tier 4 lockdown restrictions. So this year will be extra special for the actor, producers and crew of Beauty and the Beast, which is coming to Chatham from December 9.

Leading the cast is CBeebies star Jennie Dale who plays Captain Captain in hugely popular show Swashbuckle. Jennie will be playing the role of Fairy Formidable.

She said: “I will be there in the background to tell the story and help the story have the ending that it needs and deserves. I’m a goodie which is really lovely for me, I’m normally a baddie. Captain Captain is a bit bossy. So I’m very excited to be able to have some wings and a wand and to not be booed.

Jennie did her first panto when she was just seven years old in her hometown of Brighton and she said it is something that is very dear to her heart.

“To be able to see the children's faces and interact with them is great. Panto is magic. For a lot of people it is the start of their Christmas or a main part of their Christmas experience.”

Speaking about the closure of theatres during the pandemic, Jennie said: “It is so important for a community to have its theatre back, and panto especially.

“A lot of children have been watching everything on TV, online, and on screens and so for some of them to come to a theatre like this, watching something that they can interact with, is really special. I’m looking forward to hearing those kids and seeing their faces.”

Starring alongside Jennie is Todd Carty - who is probably best known for his roles at Tucker in Grange Hill and Mark Fowler in EastEnders.

He was last in Chatham for Aladdin in 2014.

He said: “It is a great feeling to be back, it is nice to go back to somewhere where you really enjoyed playing.

“It is all a bit surreal because of last year and everything being so quiet. I was one of the casualties last year, I didn't get to do a panto. I was due to do Jack and the Beanstalk in Kettering.”

Todd is playing Beauty’s father who he describes as “a bit of a bumbling old man”. After being in showbusiness since the age of four, does he ever think about retiring?

“Every now and again I think about taking a back seat but an actor never really retires. If I was a footballer, I’d be watching or carrying the water. But I’m playing an old man now. There is always going to be a grandad to play.”

And will he ever go back to soaps? "Never say never. Maybe I can play a cockney wideboy who has got a dodgy past in Emmerdale or Coronation Street, they’ve got my number so let’s see if they call.”

Like Jennie, Todd is delighted to be doing panto again this year.

He said: “Panto is magic. It is for young and old. Sometimes you see generations in the first row.

"It nearly always starts with children, they are not self-conscious in the way that adults can be. It starts with the kids and then it filters through to mum and then to dad, and dad thinks ‘I can enjoy myself here’. You see them all relaxing. It is just lovely to see.

"Theatre is one of my favourite things to do at Christmas. I've done lots of serious roles so panto is a bit of light relief. EastEnders isn't known for its laughs."

The part of The Beast and The Prince is played by another EastEnders star Matt Lapinskas, who appeared in the soap as Anthony Moon. Before the pandemic, he had been in panto for seven years and has also appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Saturday Night Fever. Like many, the festive show he was due to appear in last year was cancelled.

When Covid hit, Matt turned his talents to building and landscape gardening, but he is glad to be back on stage.

He said: “Panto gives me a chance to do everything I love to do - dance, sing, act. I’ve missed it. It is like my buzz every Christmas. Not many people can say they get paid for doing what they love to do."

He added: “Panto is a lot of kids’ first experience of theatre and it is great to see their faces. I always try to go out at the end of the show and see them, you can hear them singing the songs and see the girls dressed up in their Belle dresses. I think it brings everybody together. I think all families go home on those evenings just appreciating life a little bit more.”

Michael Neilson returns to The Central Theatre as Dame Dotty and also joining the cast will be West End star Hannah Boyce as Beauty.

Beauty and the Beast is at The Central Theatre, Chatham, from Thursday, December 9 to Friday, December 31. Tickets for the preview night are £13, and tickets for other performances start at £16.50.

To book visit www.medwayticketslive.co.uk or call the box office on 01634 338338.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway