Denise dons her ice skates
TV STAR TO BE IN NEWCASTLE PANTO
Had I had my ice skates you would not believe the tricks and the turns I could have done on there! Denise Welch
TV star Denise Welch brought some early festive cheer to Newcastle yesterday when she helped launch Centre for Life’s outdoor ice rink.
And the actress was dressed to impress in the pantomime costume she is soon to don for her role in Jack and the Beanstalk, which will be showing this Christmas in a specially-built “Pantodrome” – just a stone’s throw from the newlyinstalled rink in Times Square.
The former Loose Women presenter, who will be playing Mother Nature in the upcoming pantomime there, was joined by fellow cast members for a first whirl on the ice.
And, having been a contestant in ITV’s Dancing On Ice some years back, the North East favourite showed she’d lost none of her skating confidence.
After completing a circuit – joined by Sam Glen as Simple Simon and Daniel Mawston as Dame Trott – Denise joked that her hire boots only went forward and backwards.
“I’m using as an excuse the fact that I had a big clear-out in the house and by accident threw my ice skates out,” she said. “Had I had my ice skates you would not believe the tricks and the turns I could have done on there!” Comedian and BBC Newcastle presenter Alfie Joey hosted the official launch of Life’s annual ice rink which opens to the public today. And it will remain open daily, save for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, so families can just drop in for some skating fun right up to February 18, 2018. The only days that will have to be pre-booked are for special openings on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day. Denise, who is delighted to be back doing panto in Newcastle, said she could well find time for another session on the ice herself during the panto season, which she will co-star alongside Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas, who plays Jack. She described Mother Nature as a kind of unofficial Fairy Godmother who is “Jack’s guiding light” and said: “I wanted her to be funny”. She said Jack and Simple Simon are brothers and have been brought up in Manchester so: “We have to Geordie them up a bit – so that’s going to be my role!” The Times Square Panto will run in the yet-to-be built Pantodrome from December 11-30. “It is being purpose-built for our pantomime so it’s exciting as it means we can create a pantomime world of our own,” said Denise. She added: “I think it’s going to be the best panto in the North East.”