Mark Labbett adds the beast to Peter Pan
- Paul Genty
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
St Helens Theatre Royal's panto this Christmas will be a beastly affair: The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan (November 28-January 10, 2027) will star The Chase’s superstar quizzer Mark "The Beast" Labbett as Peter Pan's nemesis, Captain Hook.
He will be joined by Strictly star Flavia Cacace as Tinkerbell, as well as Connor Darren James, Lauren McCrory and St Helens pantomime favourites Lewis Devine and Richard Aucott.
Mark Labbett is best known as being one of the "chasers" on ITV1's smash-hit quiz show The Chase since 2009. He later became the sole Chaser on the American version in 2013, before joining the Australian version in 2016 as one of its Chasers.
Bjut he was in. aTV quiz before that - as a contestant on the BBC's highbrow Mastermind in 1999. Since then he has also appeared on BrainTeaser, Countdown, SUDO-Q, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Only Connect, The National Lottery People's Quiz, Are You an Egghead? and University Challenge. More recently he has starred in The Chasers' Road Trip and The Chase Around the World.
Flavia Cacace moved to Britain from Italy when she was five and started dancing soon afterwards. In 1995 she was partnered with Vincent Simone, starting a successful, 25-year dance partnership that saw the pair win several UK and international dance competitions. She was a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing for eight years, and she has appeared in panto before, notably at the London Palladium.
Connor Darren James will play Peter Pan in his St Helens panto debut. The actor has appeared in the region at Oldham Coliseum and the Lowry.
Lauren McCrory needs no introduction as Wendy, having appeared in Theatre Royal pantos several times before.
Audience favourite Lewis Devine returns as Smee, followng a run of hit appearances in St Helens pantos, while Richard Aucott first set foot on stage at 13 - as the back end of a pantomime horse in Toad of Toad Hall!
Regal, run by theatrical powerhouse mother and daughter duo Jane and Chantelle Joseph, has has been bringing productions to the region for more than 20 years, including four pantomimes a year at the Theatre Royal.
Panto director and St Helens Theatre Manager Chantelle Joseph said: “The Adventures of Peter Pan is set to be a swashbuckling escapade, and it’s got off to an amazing start, enjoying the biggest pre-sale in our panto history."
More info and tickets here