Soap and Kids TV stars in this year's Derby Panto

Thu 8 Aug 2019

From Emmerdale, Coronation Street and the West End Bill Ward will take to the stage in Peter Pan as the dastardly Captain Hook. Tinker Bell will be played by Katrina Bryan from CBeebies’ Nina and the Neurons and Molly & Mack.

Peter, Tinker Bell, Wendy and a very odd looking woman, who refuses to grow up, are in for a high-flying action-packed adventure. The lost boys and musical mermaids will take on some very potty pirates and the most dastardly villain of them all – Captain Hook!

Join us for an awfully big adventure this Christmas as a brand new swashbuckling pantomime sets sail for Derby Arena. From Saturday 7 December to Saturday 4 January Derby Arena will be host to Derby’s pantomime spectacular from Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment.

Bill has been a professional actor across Theatre, TV and Film for 20 years. Best known for his work on two of the country's leading Soaps, Coronation Street as Charlie Stubbs and Emmerdale as James Barton, in which he appeared for over 700 episodes, and for which he won numerous awards.

Though well known for his TV work, Bill's theatre work encompasses everything from Sophocles to The Spice Girls in London's West End and theatres across the country. Bill is currently starring in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and his other West End credits include Viva Forever, Million Dollar Quartet, Spamalot and he starred in theUK tour of Legally Blonde.

Bill has also appeared in numerous television shows including Silent Witness, True Crime, Casualty, Doctors, The Bill, Robin Hood, Midsomer Murders, Heartbeat, Cold Blood, Fallen, Holby City, EastEnders, Swag, Seven Stories, Jonathan Creek, Footballers’ Wives, Rose and Maloney, In Deep, Make My Day.  Film includes A Dark Reflection, The Great Ghost Rescue, The Haunting of Ellie Rose, Practice Makes Perfect, Adam and Steve.

Bill Ward, said: “"Hook is one of those iconic parts for an actor and I'm really looking forward to playing him.  I properly love panto and am very much up for the challenge of getting an entire arena to boo me! I’m also looking forward to spending Christmas in Derby and having a good look round the city, plus after the last few months of ‘Everybodys talking about Jamie’ in the West End it'll be nice to hang up my heels for Christmas.”

Katrina Bryan is best known for her roles on the much loved CBeebies Channel.  She played Nina in the award-winning series Nina and the Neurons which began in 2007 and is now shown all across the world.  Katrina currently plays the role of Alice in another hit show, the light-hearted CBeebies drama, Molly and Mack. She has also appeared in many of CBeebies’ well-loved Christmas shows including last year’s lead role in Thumbelina, The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan and Strictly Cinderella.

Her other TV appearances include a recurring role as Pathologist, Ellis Sinclair, in Taggart. Theatre credits include Local Hero, My Romantic History, Death of a Salesman, Houghmagandie pack, The Chrysalids, Greggs: The Musical and Parking lot in Pittsburgh.

Katrina Bryan, said: "I've always loved panto ever since I left drama school.  Happily for me, my work with CBeebies - which I absolutely love - has given me a profile across the whole of the U.K meaning I get the opportunity to perform in these bigger pantos.  Peter Pan is one of my favourite pantos to watch and to perform in.  I’m very much looking forward to bringing the special mischief that is Tinker Bell to a venue as spectacular as the Arena.  I love having variety in my work so I’m very lucky to work on stage and TV.  I love working with children and the comedy side of things too and you can’t beat panto for that! “

Second star to the right and straight on till morning! The team behind Beauty and the Beast and Jack and the Beanstalk are back to fly audiences to magical Neverland. With spectacular effects, barrel loads of laughs, jokes that grab you hook, line and sinker, and more than a sprinkling of fairy dust, this promises to be the perfect PAN-to.

Littlewolf Entertainment, said:Peter Pan is set to be our most spectacular panto to date, and we’re so excited to have brought together such a talented team of performers to bring our gangs of lost boys, pirates and mermaids to life. Both Bill and Katrina are hugely experienced pantomime performers who are going to bring something really special to the arena this Christmas. We’re busy creating an amazing spectacle with spectacular flying sequences, bucket loads of jokes and one very large crocodile! Some performances have already nearly sold out so it’s never too early to Hook your tickets.”
 
Peter Pan will be on stage at Derby Arena from Saturday 7 December 2019 until Saturday 4 January 2020, tickets priced from £14.75 with concessions, group, school and family tickets available. Save £2 when you book before 31 Oct, with other savings available.
 
It’s never too soon to get tickets for this festive family treat, audiences can book now for the best seats in the house at great prices with our panto early bird rate. Call the Sales and Information Centre on 01332 255800, pick seats online here, or book in person at the Sales and Information Centre, Riverside Chambers, Market Place, Derby.