Panto fun this festive season

TICKETS are still on sale for one of this year’s biggest pantomimes in the county - Beauty and the Beast.

Forget about the glamourous Hollywood version starring Emma Watson rerleased earlier this year, the show you want to see is on at De Montfort Hall.

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 to the stage for a second year.

Also returning again is everyone’s favourite pantomime dame, Martin Ballard, from BBC Radio Leicester, donning the frock for the seventh season.

The show run is from Saturday December 16 to Sunday January 7 with performances on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and matinees too.

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 probably best known for his TV work in the role of David Stockwell in the longrunning 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. 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”.

For tickets and more information visit www.demontforthall.co.uk