Fashion stylist Gok Wan returns to Birmingham Hippodrome this Christmas, having made his panto debut there back in 2013. This year’s pantomime production is Robin Hood, with Hippodrome panto regulars Matt Slack and Andrew Ryan featuring in the cast alongside Gok and special guest star Christopher Biggins. Gok spoke to What’s On about his love of pantomime, the secrets behind the best costumes, and his take on why panto is such an enduring tradition in the UK...

This year’s pantomime offering at Birmingham Hippodrome is Robin Hood, featuring a star-studded cast and marking the return of TV fashionista, DJ & radio star Gok Wan. In appearing as the eye-catchingly attired Gok Scarlet, Gok will be taking a trip down memory lane - the Hippodrome is the place he made his panto debut in 2013.

“I’ve been a huge panto fan since I was a kid,” Gok told What’s On. “So much so that 12 years ago, I made the documentary Gok Does Panto in this theatre. It was such an honour to be able to lift up the curtain and be part of something that, without a lot of hard work and saving, would [see us] lose one of the greatest skill sets that the Brits have ever had on stage.”

This year’s production also features Hippodrome panto favourite Matt Slack as Robin, Faye Tozer as Maid Marion, and the return of dame-extraordinaire Andrew Ryan. Matt Cardle and Sandra Marvin both make their panto debuts, as the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham and The Spirit of Sherwood respectively. Rounding out the cast is panto royalty, on and off the stage: Christopher Biggins, who makes a special appearance as King Richard.

The story of swashbuckling folk-hero Robin Hood, according to Gok, has “all the elements that you could possibly need” for the panto season.

“It’s got love, it’s got hope, it’s got courage - doing good for the good people. Without getting too academic, if you deconstruct any successful children’s story, all of those elements are involved.

“It’s a Midlands story, too. It’s based in Nottingham - it’s based in Sherwood. I’m a Midlands boy, I’m from Leicester, so I kind of join the two cities [Birmingham and Nottingham] together. For me, it’s a perfect story to tell - it feels a little bit like home.”

Being a die-hard panto fan, Gok has a few opinions about why this great British tradition remains so popular.

“I think it’s possibly something to do with the idea that every single person, when they walk into the theatre, becomes a child again. That’s not just the audience, that’s the crew, the performers, the people behind the bar, the people that work at the theatre. Every single pantomime I’ve ever done, I talk to the people who work at the theatre, that do the ballets and the performances and the plays, and they get so excited about Christmas… We’ve all got to be grown up - until it comes to panto!”

As a fashion stylist, Gok has an insight into what makes the big, bold and often outrageous costumes of pantomime most effective.

“Flamboyant, loud, bright, readable - uncomfortable! If it’s comfortable, it’s not a panto costume! Something that the kids will look at and go, ‘Why can’t I wear that to school?’ Something the adults look at and say, ‘I want to wear that at my next office party!’ It’s dress up; it’s fantasy.”

Gok Scarlet will be dressed in red - as his name suggests - in contrast with Gok’s first panto costume, which he wore to appear as the (suitably shiny) Man in the Mirror in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at the Hippodrome in 2013.

“I’ve worn that silver suit in many different pantos. When I first joined the panto community - the family - the big bosses said to me, ‘Do you want to have a hand in it? You’re a fashion designer, you’re a stylist.’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no - this isn’t my skill-set at all.’ I’m not coming into this as a fashion stylist, I’m coming to this as a performer. I’m probably the easiest person to dress - I will wear anything they throw at me, because that’s not my job. They know what looks best on stage, they know what’s ‘readable’. I love it!”
That initial foray into panto also marked another momentous occasion on the Hippodrome’s stage - the first appearance of the now legendary Matt Slack.

“Matt is my child, just so you all know - Matt is actually my son. He is not only a brilliant performer, as we all know. He’s a legend in this part of the world. People love him. He’s one of the kindest, most gentle, most insecure people, in a very beautiful way. When he’s on stage, he becomes this absolutely ferocious ball of confidence, talent, humour and everything else.

“I learned so much from him when I first worked with him. We’ve remained friends for those 12 years. We’ve worked together since, but I haven’t been on stage with him for 12 years, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think both of us have grown, and it's going to be really interesting. He has a warmth about him - you can’t teach that kind of warmth. He’s brilliant, and I adore him. But he is my child - and he will also tell you that I’m his parent.”

When the pair reunite on stage, there are sure to be a few hijinx in store - for audience and performers alike.

“I literally cannot wait, because he’s so naughty. And my job isn’t the comedy - I do the ‘set ups’. They call it the ‘straight man’ in comedy. I set Matt up so that he can land his gags. It’s my job, however, to corpse him, to make him laugh at any opportunity, and I’m really good at it! I will get him, every single show. It won’t be dangerous, but it’ll be absolutely hysterical.”

While the gags, glitz and glamour are essential for any panto, something else gives Gok the drive to return to the stage year after year: the people.

“Once a year, I get to be a child again. I get to prance around on stage with some of the greatest performers in this country. I get to make people laugh and smile, I get people to scream at the top of their voices. I get people to leave their inhibitions at the door, and I don’t get to do that in any other part of my world. I love that - it’s a real privilege to do it.”

Robin Hood shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Saturday 20 December to Sunday 1 February

By Jessica Clixby