Former Eastenders star to lead cast as Cinderella is announced as this year's pantomime

Heading back to dry land after last year’s Peter Pan performance, the theatre is this year hosting the Fairy Godmother of all pantomimes, Cinderella, starring Anita Dobson as the Wicked Stepmother.

Anita has been a household name for over 30 years, since she rose to fame as Angie Watts, the first landlady of the Queen Vic on EastEnders. Over 30 million viewers tuned in to see her served with divorce papers by her on-screen husband Dirty Den on Christmas Day in 1986, a record which is yet to be surpassed by any other UK soap.

She went on to appear in many other television series including Red Dwarf, Rab C Nesbitt and her own BBC sitcom Split Ends.

Her stage credits include Mama Morton in Chicago and Madame Morrible in Wicked, both in the West End, Joan Crawford in Bette and Joan, which toured to Northampton, and an Olivier-nominated performance in Bryony Lavery’s Frozen at the National Theatre.

Cinderella, at Northampton's Royal & Derngate, will feature comedy, 'jaw-dropping special effects', singing and dancing and plenty of boos and hisses from Friday 6 to Sunday 29 December.

There are generous discounts for groups and special rates for schools available for selected performances.

Tickets prices start from £11 and more than 10,000 tickets are available at less than £20.

For more information or to book tickets, call Box Office 01604 624811 or by visiting www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

A charge of £3 applies for all transactions of £15 and over. Does not apply to groups, friends or disabled patrons, and is per-transaction, not per-ticket.