Surprise, surprise, Cilla’s back in panto with a lorra laughs at the Liverpool Empire

May 14 2008 by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

‘I ALWAYS wanted to do something for the Capital of Culture year and this seemed ideal.’ This was Liverpool icon Cilla Black back in Liverpool yesterday, explaining why she had decided to go back into pantomime after a lengthy break.

She will headline a starry Liverpool company in Cinderella opening at the Liverpool Empire on December 11 and running through until January 4.

Still glamorous at 64, she admitted she preferred to take it easy these days, turning down numerous job offers.

“But when this came through I knew I had to do it,” she said. “I will be playing the Fairy Godmother, a role I have never played before.”

She was last in pantomime at the Empire in 1986, an occasion which gave rise to one of show-business’s best-loved stories.

She had asked the audience how she should kill the villain played by Gareth Hunt. “Sing to him!” shouted a small child. “It got such a good laugh we put it in the show and used it every night.”

This year, she will be joined on stage by a line-up of Liverpool stars including Les Dennis as Buttons, Jennifer Ellison in the title role, Ted Robbins as Baron Hardup and radio presenter Pete Price and comedy actor Roy Brandon as the Ugly Sisters.

A special script is being written for the show by writer/ actor Eric Potts, best-known for playing eccentric baker Diggory Compton in Coronation Street. “I have been collecting lots of local references, but the first thing will be to tell the traditional story,” he said.

Cilla said she would be working with him on her own material as well. “You bet. And I will be singing, too!”

Produced by pantomime special-ist company First Family, it is ex-pected to be the most expensive pantomime ever seen in the city, with a budget of over £1m.

Chief executive Kevin Wood explained: “It will be our biggest pantomime ever with glorious costumes and sets. We are hoping to sell every seat during the run.”

He had been producing pantomimes for 25 years until four years ago when he offered to be in-house panto-mime producer for Empire owners Live Nation. “They came up with our title First Family.”

Les Dennis made a triumphant panto return with the company in Sunderland last year playing Buttons opposite Hollywood leg-end Mickey Rooney. “He was a lovely man,” says Les, who now does more acting than comedy.

“I am appearing in the Liver-pool Comedy Festival in the Best of Liverpool and I am scared stiff as I don’t do that sort of stand-up any more. But I am only comper-ing, so I think it will be all right.”

Rehearsals in London have pro-vided a headache for Pete Price who has a regular night-time radio show on CityTalk in Liver-pool. “I will be commuting between Liverpool and London every day,” he said.

* CINDERELLA opens on December 11 with tickets priced between £15-£27.50. Box Office 0844 847 2525.

philkey@dailypost.co.uk