Alison Hammond to appear in Birmingham panto

Birmingham-born TV presenter and reporter Alison Hammond is to appear in Jack and the Beanstalk, the 2023 panto at the city’s Hippodrome.

Matt Slack will return for his 10th Hippodrome panto while Doreen Tipton will play Doreen the Cow and Andrew Ryan will be the dame.

The theatre has not said which role Hammond will play. She said, “it’s no secret that I love panto and I love Birmingham, so being able to be part of the legendary Birmingham Hippodrome pantomime is a dream come true. I’m super excited that I’ll be starring in Jack and the Beanstalk alongside the hilarious Matt, Doreen and Andrew.”

Jack and the Beanstalk will run from Saturday 16 December until Sunday 28 January 2024.

In the Patrick Studio, Rod Campbell’s Dear Santa will be “an ideal introduction to theatre for those aged two and over” from Monday 11 until Sunday 24 December.

The Hippodrome has announced new productions for 2024 which include Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands from Tuesday 6 until Saturday 10 February, The Drifters Girl from Tuesday 16 until Saturday 20 April, the reimagined production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar from Monday 22 until Saturday 27 April and the song-and-dance spectacular 42nd Street from Monday 29 April until Saturday 4 May.