The Wednesday night performance of Snow White at The Central Theatre didn’t get off to the best start - it was running around 20 minutes late which is not ideal when you have an audience full of fidgety little ones. But once the curtain went up at the Chatham venue, it more than made up for the lateness.

The production has everything you would expect from family panto - a cheeky dame, a handsome prince and lots of laughs. But this show seemed extra special - the dame had everyone up dancing - even my usually-shy son - the prince could belt out big musical numbers, Somewhere Only We Know by Keane was the stand-out, and parts of the show were so funny that even my panto-reluctant other half was chuckling in his seat.

At times the jokes were a little cheesy - my seven year old even said some of the one-liners at the start were “the worst” - but that’s what pantomimes are all about aren’t they? And don’t worry the seven year old was soon joining in, shouting 'they're behind you' and enjoying every minute.

The show combines the traditional tale of Snow White (played by West End star Hannah Boyce) with some modern singing and dancing. The Seven Dwarves, arrived on stage to Dolly Parton’s 9-5 and Dame Dotty sang Don't Cha by the Pussycats Dolls.

Samantha Hughes' performance as The Wicked Queen was great - especially considering she is a stand-in for EastEnders actress Gillian Wright, who plays Jean Slater in the soap - she had to pull out last week due to a broken wrist. Samantha didn’t miss a single line - and there was no room for error as her whole part was spoken in rhyming couplets.

The comedy sketches by Dame Dotty, Herbie and Prince Simon were really funny. There was one point when Herbie got a giant yellow balloon stuck on his head.

But it was the trio’s performance of The Twelve Days of Christmas that stole the show - it literally brought the house down with whooping and cheering from all ages in the audience. It was a fast-paced comical take of the festive song - involving a bra made for three instead of a partridge in a pear tree, lots of disappearing props, water guns and everyone joining in to sing “five toilet rolls” for every verse.

The production is accompanied by a live band and it was times like this that made it a special part of the show - when things went awry the man on the piano had to keep playing. There was a moment half way through the song when Dame Dotty took a tumble and needed help getting up - I’m still not 100% sure if it was scripted - but the kids thought it was hilarious.

There was a surprise cameo by a well-known TV presenter as the man in the mirror who tells the Queen who is the fairest of them all. But I won’t spoil the surprise for those who haven’t seen it yet.

The night ended on a high - with all the younger audience members up on their feet doing a dance routine with Dame Dotty.

The production may have been missing its soap star but I don’t think it mattered one bit. The whole cast were brilliant and this show couldn’t fail to bring some fun to your festive season.

Snow White is on until December 31. To book tickets, call the box office on 01634 338338.