Panto favourite Brad Fitt steps back into his high heels as he returns as the dame for Theatre Severn’s pantomime.

Firstly, how does it feel to be a new-found international superstar?

Is this because of Brad Pitt? It’s alright, actually. It’s actually happened before, when people have misspelt my name in reviews and things like that, but I don’t think they’ve managed to print such a large banner before. The next day, The Sun got in touch, it was on Sky News, the radio in Spain. He’s been after this job for years! He wouldn’t be able to do it, but then I wouldn’t be able to do what he does.

You’re no stranger to the world of pantomime. What is it that attracts you to spending a season in panto?

I love it! I never trained as an actor, I trained as a stage manager. I used to work for Christopher Biggins for years and used to write little bits for him. He did five years at Cambridge Arts Theatre, where I was the company manager working backstage, and I used to write jokes for him. Then he left and they asked me to write the panto one year, so I fell into writing it. Then they asked me to direct it, so I fell into directing it, and one year they asked me to be in it, and I said, ‘That’s a stupid idea, I'm not going to do that, I've never been on stage before’. It was Cinderella and eventually I said I'd do it because I love panto. So then I did it and that was it, I've done it ever since. So every Christmas, there I am, putting the tights on. It’s always a bit of a shock come the autumn when I have to get everything down from the loft again, and my boobs have gone a bit flat in the suitcase and I need to plump them up a bit, and I get the makeup out. I love it, though. I love panto!

What keeps drawing you back to Theatre Severn?

This is my ninth year. Paul Hendy, the producer, came to see me in Cambridge when I was there, and I think every year for about three years he kept offering me one of his shows, but I was under contract to Cambridge. One year he phoned me and asked whether I would like to go and do Chatham in Kent, and I said no. Then the next year, he phoned and asked whether I wanted to do Crawley, but I wasn’t fussed on going there either. The third year he phoned me, I hadn’t signed a contact with Cambridge and he said that he had Shrewsbury available - a new theatre that had just opened. I googled Shrewsbury and I thought, ‘That looks nice, I like that’, so that was it. So then I came to Shrewsbury, loved it, and I've had a lovely time here. You have a shorthand with the audience because you come back year after year, so you don't have to do all that ‘my name’s Widow Twankey’ thing. People know what to expect, so I can just come on and shout, ‘Hello Shrewsbury’ and we’re back where we left off. It’s like those close friends who you don’t speak to for ages but when you phone them up, you just pick up from where you left off. That’s what my relationship is with Shrewsbury.

What are you looking forward to most about performing in Aladdin?

Aladdin is a good one. It’s magical, it’s a lovely story, and it’s nice to meet up with old friends like Eric and Victoria, who I've worked with a lot in the past. And then it’s nice to have new people join the company too. It’s nice to have a bit of familiarity, but Harry and David I’ve seen before. I know that their work is good, and I'm looking forward to working with them. I’ve worked with Phil before, but not on stage, so I'm looking forward to that. It’s nice. We all live all over the country, and we’re all thrown together at Christmas and you have to get on. It’s a nice family atmosphere. You bond quickly because you’re thrown together over Christmas - you only get one day off - so if you don’t like each other, you’re stuffed really.

Have you played the character of Widow Twankey before? 

She’ll be nine years older. She might not slip over as much. I have to think of my hips nowadays because it’s very dangerous when you get to my age. I don’t think she’ll be any different at all. I don’t think my Dame is different. You only get one thing with me. I’m not Brad Pitt; I can’t do Benjamin Button or Mr & Mrs Smith. With me you get the one character. 

Why are Midlands audiences the best?

They come year in, year out. They have the same seats. It’s amazing. I’ll be here on Boxing Day, and you look out and think ‘That family sat there last Boxing Day’. They go out and they pick the same seats. I usually pick on men in the audience, and I keep this little book of their names, and it’s amazing how the very same day one year on, you see the same people in the audience. When I see that, I can look in my book and see that his name was Leonard, and low and behold you come out and there he is. They're thrilled because I come out and go, “Leonard, there you are’ and they go, ‘Oh my god, he remembers me’. I do remember; there are certain people who I do remember - Leonard’s family, for example. There’s a postman who comes; his family are always in the same seats and they come year after year. It’s like seeing your friends again. You see the same families at the stage door. I always used to go out and have pictures taken. Now people will show me pictures of me with their kids when they were four, and now their kids are 13 and it’s part of their Christmas tradition. I love meeting people. Because I'm dressed as a Dame and have all this makeup on, I go around Shrewsbury and nobody knows who I am. I can slip out and go and buy unhealthy food and stuff like that and nobody’s watching me.

Panto can be very gruelling. Do you have a fitness routine to get you festive-ready?

I’m quite an active person in life; I'm always busy. I’ve got three foster children who keep me busy, I’ve got an allotment, I do loads of different jobs and I'm always on the go. I do have a gym membership, which I haven’t really used for a while, but I do have one. I’m not sat there watching Homes Under The Hammer, eating pot noodles. When I'm doing panto, I do take vitamins and things like that, as you do have to look after yourself. I have my flu injection because you don’t want to be ill - that’s the worst thing! When I'm doing the show, I make a drink with hot water, chopped-up ginger, apple cider vinegar, Manuka honey, lime juice and fresh rosemary. It’s all anti-inflammatory, healthy bacteria, etc. Never use lemon juice! Lemon is acidic and lime is acetic. Lemon juice will strip the lining of your throat whereas lime juice just kills bacteria. There’s my tip for today - you shouldn’t have hot honey and lemon.

What’s your earliest memory of panto?

Going to see the Norwich Theatre Royal panto when I was five or six. I remember coming home from school and my mum saying that we were going to the panto that evening and trying to make me sleep beforehand because it was an evening show. I remember having to lie down on the sofa and my mum closing the curtains and not being able to sleep - I was too excited! I think it was Benny from Crossroads - I’m sure it was Cinderella. I remember an Ugly Sister coming out, and she was quite tall and had ping-pong balls down her tights in front of her knees, which I thought was hilarious. I loved it.

What are your favourite and least favourite aspects of appearing in panto?

I love the families. It’s a feelgood thing. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to do something that makes a lot of people happy. If you make someone happy or make somebody laugh, it’s a nice feeling, isn’t it? If you do that twice a day to 700 people, it’s a lovely feeling! That’s what I like. It’s tough being away from your family - I have children and I'm married. It’s tough. You get one day really, Christmas Day, then Boxing Day I'm up at 5am to drive back here for 7am to get ready for a matinee. That’s the toughest thing.

You’ve played many a panto role. Which character’s your favourite?

My favourite panto is Dick Whittington; I think because Sarah the Cook is a good character, it’s a bit nautical, you get on the ship, and I just like the story. When I did Cinderella here at Theatre Severn and I played Buttons, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it. I assumed I was going to be an Ugly Sister, and Paul said that I couldn’t be one because we couldn’t have people booing me in Shrewsbury, so I'd have to be either Buttons or Dandini. I’d never been on stage dressed as a man before, but I really enjoyed it - I had a great time! I wasn’t getting changed 36 times a day either - I had just two costumes. When you’re doing this, you’re getting changed 30 times a day. That’s what keeps me fit - I don’t need the gym!

When does your prep for panto begin?

Before this one is over, Paul Hendy will be talking to me about what the next one is going to be. Once we’ve got through rehearsals and we’re into the run of Aladdin, he’ll start talking about next year because they’ll want to take pictures and they’ll want to get posters up, etc. To be honest with you, it’s continuous. You never, ever stop. 

Do you feel there are any subjects which are out of bounds in terms of making jokes?

There are pantos that go a bit near the knuckle. I don’t think we do, really. I would never tell a joke that was offensive or rude. Sometimes you can use a double entendre - but then that’s in your mind, that’s not me. I'm just saying whatever it is that I'm saying, and if you start laughing because you think it’s dirty, that’s your mind, not my mind. You have to blame yourself. 

Bar prep for Aladdin, what else have you been up to since Mother Goose last year?

This year I’ve booked tours of The Woman In Black, An Inspector Calls and I've been associate producer for Toast, which is a show about Nigel Slater. So I’ve got three shows out on the road. I’m going round the country at the minute with An Inspector Calls. I’ve written Basildon and Welwyn Garden City panto scripts - Dick Whittington and Snow White And The Severn Dwarfs respectively. I’ve got my allotment as well, so I've grown some very nice asparagus this year. I’ve kept busy! 

You can see Brad Pitt as Widow Twankey in Aladdin at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury from Wed 4 December - Sun 12 January.