A beast of a panto show at venue

THE De Montfort Hall in Leicester is the venue for Beauty and the Beast this festive season.

After breaking box office records last year, De Montfort Hall has announced their star studded line up for this year’s spectacular family pantomime.

Richard ‘Dick’ McCourt of children’s TV’s Dick and Dom fame will star alongside the star of ITV’s Heartbeat, David Lonsdale and Leicester’s very own singing sensation Sam Bailey; who returns for a second year. Also returning again is everyone’s favourite pantomime dame, Martin Ballard, from BBC Radio Leicester.

Children’s television star Richard McCourt has been part of the BAFTA Award winning duo Dick and Dom for twenty years and has appeared in some of the most popular shows in CBBC history including Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow, The Legend of Dick and Dom and Absolute Genius amongst others.

David Lonsdale is an accomplished singer and theatre actor but is prob- ably best known for his TV work in the role of David Stockwell in the long running TV series Heartbeat and as a teenage Peter Barlow in Coronation Street.

Leicester’s Sam Bailey shot to fame in 2013 when she won X-Factor and proceeded to have a Christmas number one as well as a number one album. Since then Sam has gone from strength to strength, releasing her second album in 2016 as well as touring as Mama Morton in Chicago and this year sees her touring the UK in her Sing My Heart Out tour.

Sam said “I’m so excited to be back on home turf at De Montfort Hall again this year. I absolutely love Beauty and the Beast too so it’s a double bonus for me. I had a great time last year and I can’t wait to see everyone again this Christmas”.

No Leicester panto would be complete without BBC Leicester broadcaster Martin Ballard who’s donning the dame’s frock once again, as he returns for his seventh pantomime season at De Montfort Hall.