Some casting has been announced for Cinderella at the Palladium:-

Paul o Grady - Wicked Stepmother
Julian Clary - Dandini
Lee Mead - Prince Charming
Paul Zerdin - Buttons
Nigel Havers - Lord Chamberlain
Arthur Strong - Baron Hardup

Cinders, Ugly Sisters and Fairy Godmother still to be announced.

Well done Lee!

Linky Thing

details here

Ah, yes, the news we had been looking forward to for so long! Speculation had been rife when Lee hinted at big panto news when he was at the Pheasantry, but of course at that time we had no idea that the Palladium was in the running.

I'm absolutely thrilled for him - and on a personal note it's nice and easy for me to get to . Unfortunately the down side is the price of the tickets, but that's offset by paying just over a tenner to get to London. Swings and roundabouts!

Anyway, I've booked ... more than once!

Just a little warning for anybody who tries booking online; the website on the panto page is saying 'sold out' to virtually everything, but don't worry, there are plenty of tickets available by telephone and I think the really useful theatre's website is taking bookings too.

Just announced - Amanda Holden as Fairy Godmother.

Not bad - Amanda should certainly look great in the costumes. I wonder if they've cast Cinderella and the ugly sisters yet?

Some interesting snippets in this article!

The panto is costing £4 million to put on , there are some specially written new songs, Julian looping the loop on a pink moped , Amanda flying into the audience, and, most importantly, has already taken over £1.4 million at the box office!!!

Theatre Planet

Blimey! That's a whopping budget - sounds like it's going to be spectacular! Love the bit about Julian riding the moped! I wonder if he's been told about that yet, or if they're casually going to drop it into the conversation?

Natasha J Barnes is Cinderella!

She's currently Sheridan Smith's alternate/understudy in Funny Girl (and famously stepped in to cover for a couple of months while Sheridan was off ill).

So both Cinders and Prince Charming are really strong performers!

I'm laughing at myself here - I've been checking QDOS website every day to find out who would be Cinderella. The day I didn't bother to check I get caught out! (I'm always interested in Lee's leading ladies as they're working with somebody really special.)

Will have a nosey on Google for a photo. Thanks for this Jo!

I saw her in Funny Girl when Sheridan was off. She's good, has a great voice.

Cinders

Not seen her but, phew, that's a relief after some of the names we've heard doing the rounds.

What I'm really pleased about is that the sisters are the Wicked Sisters and not Ugly Sisters. High time people stopped associating ugly with evil.

First photo of Lee and his panto co-stars in costume:-

LINKY THING

He looks like he might be wearing...breeches and tights!

The Panto bods tweeted this pic of the poster for the last Palladium panto, 29 years ago!

LINKY THING

Interesting cast, and choice of panto. You don't see people doing that one anymore.

Oh please.... what the .... have they done to his face on the Cinderella poster, it is not him

I really agree. But I do like what LMAS have craftily done to that poster. I'm sure there'll be some better photos once opening night gets nearer.

Panto rehearsals have started, and there's been an interesting tweet from the Panto bods:-


Cinderella
‏@Cinderella_LDN
Day two for our fabulous Cinderella company. We'll be tweeting sneak previews from the rehearsal rooms all week, so stay tuned!

Exciting!

The Cinders twitter account tweeted this gem:-

Cinderella ‏@Cinderella_LDN 1h
1 hour ago

Another day in the rehearsal room @leemeadofficial, our dashing Prince Charming, is busy learning his lines, oh yes he is...

LINKY THING

Looks like Lee put on his dancing shoes today:-

Lee Mead ‏@leemeadofficial 5h
5 hours ago

Heading into work for a Saturday afternoon rehearsal to learn my dance steps for the Ball scene. Good luck with that one! @Cinderella_LDN

Looks like the 'Hello!' photo spread is in this week's mag (out tomorrow, I think?):-

Cinderella ‏@Cinderella_LDN 1h
1 hour ago

Our very own @leemeadofficial and @natashajbarnes said 'hello' to @hellomag, pick up this week's issue to see them in all their splendour.

LINKY THING

Liking the white fancy shirt/black waistcoat combo - very Mr Darcy!

Loving his expression in the 'Flowery jacket/waistcoat' pic - "I can't believe I'm wearing this...it looks like wallpaper!"

Apparently, this pic isn't in the actual mag, it's in the digital version. Thanks to the Timeline for finding it:-

LINKY THING

*THUD*

That's it. Unless it's snowing tomorrow I'm off to the shops and that magazine is coming home with me. But just in case I come home empty-handed a special thank you for that amazing new banner! I will try not to crash into a wall...thud...owww! Too late.

Oh my, those pics are stunning.

He really doesn't have a clue, does he?

Thanks lovely Ladies for the new banner photos - have you all picked yourselves off the floor yet?

I confess those photos are absolutely gorgeous! *swoon* Am not over wild on the 'Liberace' one though! If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean

I'm loving the new banner!

Well, what can I say? The panto is FAB-U-LOUS! I haven't time to do a review, but I'll just say I laughed none stop for the three hours (!) it lasted. I don't want to give away the special effects, which are amazing, but Lee of course looks gorgeous ....

Promotion pics have been popping up all over Twitter today, but for the best selection, head over if you can to the "Cinderella at the London Palladium" Facebook page. You can see there the stunning costumes of Paul O'G and Julian in all their glory (plus a certain Prince C of course ....)

What's On Stage has some pics:-

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Loving pic 2!

Here's the Cinderella Facebook page:-

LINKY THING

Nice little interview with Lee and Natasha on BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester:-

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Bruised toes and shins!

Some pics from last night, which was Press Night:-

LINKY THING

Thanks for sharing! I hope I've done the right thing as I've stolen one of them for a desktop background.

A nice little backstage tour guided by Lee and Natasha:-

LINKY THING

Loving Lee leaning against the wall, and his "Hello!" to camera!

Lee once woke up after a party under a sink!

Julian's chariot reminds me of the Chariot of Gold in 'Joseph'!

BTW - Apparently (according to the Daily Fail's theatre critic), Lee is carrying a bit of extra weight (only the tc didn't put it quite that politely)! Watching this vid, I'm at a loss to work out where the extra weight is - Mr tc needs to get down to Specsavers, methinks!

Lee's response to the critic mentioned above:-

Lee Mead ‏@leemeadofficial 36m
36 minutes ago

Thank you for the comment @thequentinletts .Really any need??You're a classy chap. -Pleased you loved the show though. All that matters.

Well said, Lee!

I can't see any extra weight on Lee he looks very slim to me the person who said that certainly needs SPEC SAVERS.
Lee has got a great body.

I wouldn't touch the Daily Mail with a bargepole anyway. Vile rag.

Baz from the Daily Fail has just tweeted that next year's Palladium panto is Dick Whittington - with tickets going on sale 'very soon'!

Lee as Dick?

It'd be good to see him in a different panto. I hope this happens for him.

Loving this photo - Lee looking exquisite:-

Lee Mead ‏@leemeadofficial 1h
1 hour ago

Ok.. I give in.. ready for bed

LINKY THING

A tweet from Lee before the last show:-

Lee Mead ‏@leemeadofficial 25m
25 minutes ago

Well..That's it. 15mins until our last show. Thank you to the thousands of you who came these last five weeks and to @QdosPantomimes. Epic x

So the Prince has come to the end of his run.

I wonder what his next work plans are...and will we be seeing his...er...Dick in the next Palladium panto?

This isn't a review, but just a tale of what happened to me at the panto!

We had a fabulous final weekend in London at the Palladium, the highlight of which was muggins being given a starring role/being publicly embarrassed (delete as applicable) by Juliano Dandini himself aka Julian Clary.

After Julian's first entrance on stage he strolls along, scanning the front row for a suitable 'victim'. On Sunday afternoon it was my turn, due to (a) my catching his eye at the wrong moment and (b) stupidly wearing a red top. I knew what was coming, having seen the show *ahem* before . Can't remember the exact words, but it was along the lines of, "That's a nice top, red with little butterflies. Where are you from?" Me: "Chelmsford." JC: "Do they have a market?" Me: "Yes, every day." JC: "Pity they didn't have it in your size!" At this point, Lee, who had been standing near Julian during this exchange, covered his face with his hands, and then mouthed "Sorry" to me. However, I was in absolute hysterics, as were my cohorts near me in the front row.

Then later, as Lee sung ADWD, all his regulars (and a lot of other audience members too) waved our arms along with it as per usual. Julian asked, "Where do you think you are, Butlins?", then turned aside and said "coach party from Chelmsford, I expect!"

My fleeting moment of fame at the London Palladium!

Oh, A/Liz, good thing you have a sense of humor! And so sweet of Lee to make it better for you.

A Liz! It was good to see you and the rest of your 'coach party' on saturday if only briefly.

Ha! That's brilliant!

Lee's such a softie isn't he, but how sweet of him! At least you know you weren't the only one who Julian 'insulted' that weekend!

Julian 'insulted' someone twice daily for five weeks, so I was in good company - and I didn't mind in the slightest!

No, the insults are all good fun aren't they? I'd have been creased laughing if he'd picked on me.

One final goodbye - JaneW style! Lovely, detailed review of Cinderella now on the website.

Cinderella

Yee hah! I love Jane's reviews!

Wonderful review, Jane. I don't know how you remember so much detail to write it down.

Thank you, too, to the other ladies for their reviews (which seem to have stra*** onto the 'Forum' thread . Lovely to read everyone's individual takes on the panto.

Now all we have to do is wait to hear what's next for the 2017/2018 season!

Wow, that's a great review by Jane!