TV LEGEND ROBERT LINDSAY WILL

WHEN asked to be in panto one of our best-loved stars always answered: “Oh no I won’t!” Until now.

For over five decades, award-winning actor Robert Lindsay has resisted the knockabout fun and laughter of pantomime.

But this year the My Family star has had a change of heart because the show will raise money for the hospital that saved his daughter’s life.

Next month Robert, who has performed Shakespeare and starred alongside the likes of Sir Derek Jacobi, will play villain Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Robert, 68, said: “I’ve always said I’d never do one, mainly because I don’t want to work over Christmas. It was never part of my overall plan.”

But when he realised the royalties from Peter Pan have been going to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital since 1929, he jumped at the chance to get involved.

Frightened

Robert revealed how the hospital saved the life of his daughter Sydney when she was child.

He said: “I think she picked up some form of amoebic dysentery from a dirty swimming pool on a holiday we had.

“It was an awful time. We were frightened and she was frightened. It was only when we got to Great Ormond Street when we had a scan and we realised she was going to be saved. She was in there for two weeks.”

Sydney, Robert’s daughter with actress Diana Weston, is now 30 and an actress and writer. But Robert has never forgotten the help the hospital gave her.

He said: “I saw the most extraordinary people dealing with the most extraordinary illnesses and it blew my mind.”

Although Peter Pan will be his first panto, versatile Robert has a wealth of experience to draw on.

His comic roles include beretwearing anarchist Wolfie in 70s sitcom Citizen Smith and disgruntled dad Ben Harper in My Family.

He has won awards for his musical stage roles, including Fagin in Oliver! and a BAFTA for the 1991 dark TV comedy GBH.

He even played ex-pm Tony Blair in Channel 4 satire The Trial of Tony Blair.

And Robert, who fell in love with the magic of panto as a boy, is certainly fit enough for his new role.

He said: “You have to sign a medical form if you’re doing panto and I answered no to every single question – so I’m fine, fit, able to fly and able to scream at kids.

“You can’t do panto if you’re not fit. At my age it’s much nicer to be working than sitting at home and wallowing in self pity because you’ve turned another year older.

“The amount of friends and family who are all pleading with me to gets tickets for the panto- mime that couldn’t be bothered to come and see a Terence Rattigan play down in Bath... it’s really interesting.”

Robert is married to dancer and presenter Rosemarie Ford, 56. They have two sons – Samuel, 19, and James, 15 – who seem more interested in the stars their parents work with than their mum and dad’s careers. Robert said the boys were struck