Chatham's pantomime will go ahead tomorrow, theatre bosses have confirmed.

An update on the Chatham Panto Facebook page confirmed 'the show will go on', with tomorrow's performances of Beauty and the Beast scheduled to take place at The Central Theatre in Chatham as planned.

The statement follows the last minute cancellation of the pantomime on Sunday, when it was announced the show could not go ahead due to Covid cases among the cast and crew.

With just minutes to go before the scheduled performance, the announcement brought tears from the audience, along with some heckles.

But today the theatre group thanked the 'fantastic cast and crew', including new understudies who have stepped up to ensure that the performances can continue.

A statement added: "To protect our cast and crew we have robust Covid protocols in place such as enhanced cleaning and twice daily testing, including between shows, so unfortunately we may have to take further last-minute decisions to cancel shows but we are doing our absolute best to ensure that doesn’t happen.

"These decisions are not taken lightly and whilst we understand audiences’ frustration, abuse towards theatre staff will not be tolerated.

"If we are forced to cancel any further performances ticketholders will be contacted directly by the Box Office, via email, and we will update our website and social media channels. We will do our best to give audiences as much notice as possible.

"Thank you for your continued patience and understanding this week. We’re looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow."