Oompa Loompas wanted to walk out on wonky Willy
Actresses reveal how infamous event went from sweet to sour
Two actresses who played oompa Loompas at a now infamous willy wonka event in Glasgow have slammed the organisers.
Kirsty Paterson and Jenny Fogarty were hired to play the orange-faced helpers at the “experience” last weekend but admitted they “wanted to walk out” after realising how disastrous it would be.
Hundreds of families had paid to attend the weekend-long Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience, organised by events company House of Illuminati.
The advert promised a family-day out with a “paradise of sweet treats” and an “enchanted garden containing giant sweets and mysterious sculptures”. It also boasted an “imagination lab with mind-expanding projections and optical marvels”.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain yesterday, Kirsty said she was initially excited by the job, adding they were getting paid “quite well” for two days.
However, things soured the night before the event opened, when the actors were handed “£1 inappropriate Poundland outfits”.
Kirsty said: “They told us it was going to be a pantomime style and we were going to perform as the families walked through. We got the scripts the night before.
“When I went on the Friday, I thought, ‘Surely they must have people working through the night to make it better with lights and decorations?’.”
However, despite being advertised as a brightly coloured, exciting event filled with sweet treats, photos from the event showed a much less eyecatching experience.
Kirsty added: “How do I describe it? It was a bunch of tablecloths and IKEA mirrors.”
Before the doors had even opened, Kirsty was already questioning her choice to stick with the experience.
She said: “When we asked about make-up, we were told to improvise and go as crazy as we wanted. There was no direction.
“I tried on the costume and we were all just laughing but I was contemplating walking out.”
However, ever the professional, Kirsty decided to grin and bear it as the families started to pour in.
“The other actors were amazing and I didn’t want to let them down,” she said. “Then the kids started to come in all dressed up, which was so cute, and they were so excited, so I didn’t want to let them down either.
“The first group that came in, I was happy and trying to make the best of it, I did cartwheels and jumped around.
“Groups walked through another couple of times and we were still acting and working with what we were given.”
However, it soon became apparent that things were not all as they should have been and families, who had paid £35 a ticket, became frustrated.
Eventually, police had to be called to shut down the event.
Kirsty said: “We walked out and went to the pub after it was shut down, then we came back and there were four police vans outside.
“I actually feel really bad because no one has had any refunds and it is a cost-of-living crisis.”
After the event, a House of Illuminati spokesperson said: “Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and for that we are truly sorry.
“Unfortunately, at the last minute, we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through and now realise we probably should have cancelled instead.
“We are devastated at how this has turned out and understand people’s anger and the frustration that everyone has had. Refunds have already started being issued and the rest should be over the coming days. Again we are truly sorry to everyone.”
i tried on the costume and we were all laughing kirsty paterson on shambolic event