Simon Webbe leads the cast of the 2016 panto Jack and the Beanstalk at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate alongside Britain’s Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey.
Webbe, who will play Jack Trott, is best known for being a member of the boy band Blue. He has also appeared on the West End stage in Sister Act.
In 2015 he made his panto debut opposite Christopher Biggins in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham.
Playing Princess Apricot is Wellingborough-born Ashleigh Butler. She and her dog Pudsey won the sixth series of Britain’s Got Talent. They have appeared in panto for the past four Christmases.
Jonathan Kiley, executive producer of Jack and the Beanstalk, said, “with Simon’s stunning vocals and Ashleigh and Pudsey’s much-loved routines, it’s guaranteed to be a magical Christmas treat for the entire family.”
Jack and the Beanstalk replaces the previously advertised Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It will run at Royal and Derngate from Friday 9 December until Saturday 31 December.