Sooty loves Christmas. Well, at least that’s what we think he said. Catching up with the iconic bear and his friend & ‘owner’, Richard Cadell, What’s On finds out what lies in store for audiences at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre this panto season.

In a salubrious hotel room on the outskirts of Wolverhampton sits entertainment                      entrepreneur Richard Cadell, the man charged with bringing the iconic Sooty to life both on stage and TV. 

Regarded by his legion of fans as a national treasure, Sooty this year celebrates 70 years in showbusiness, during which time he’s entertained generations of youngsters with mischievous antics, magic spells and not a little assistance from his sidekick Sweep and long-term love interest Soo. 

As is perhaps to be expected with someone of such advancing years, Sooty was having an afternoon nap when we arrived at the hotel, leaving it to the affable Mr Cadell to enlighten us about the duo’s much-anticipated appearance in Sleeping Beauty at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre this Christmas.   

“Sooty is of course a very magical teddy bear,” explains Richard. “He’s also very mischievous and naughty, which gets him lots of laughs from the audience. He’ll be using his magic wand and casting his famous Izzy Wizzy spell to help the good fairy - the Lovely Debbie McGee - as she fights her battles with Carabosse and saves Sleeping Beauty from the wicked fate that Carabosse has planned for her. He’ll certainly have a pivotal role in the story, and we really can’t wait to get started.”

Produced by panto specialists Qdos, Sleeping Beauty promises to be another spectacular success story for the Grand, and although the Qdos team will be responsible for the majority of the content, there’s also an opportunity for Richard to showcase his writing talent.

“What’s been lovely is that Qdos have given me the chance to make sure Sooty is well served within the story, so we’ve been able to rubber-stamp all the Sooty things. The Sooty Show is the longest-running TV series in the world, and what’s great is that it hasn’t changed a bit. People who remember watching it when they were kids acknowledge this, and what Qdos has allowed me to do is take the traditional stuff that everybody knows and loves and work it into the story so that it makes sense and has a place. 

“A lot of people will be coming to the panto just to see Sooty, so it’s going to be fun for us to do stuff they remember from their childhood, and hopefully to help them re-live a bit of their youth.”

As well as the Lovely Debbie McGee, Sooty is appearing alongside Doreen ‘Lazy Cow’ Tipton, stalwart pantomime Dame Ian Adams, and the ever-reliable Julie Paton, who’ll be showing her dark side as Carabosse. West End star Oliver Ormson and Bethan-Wyn-Davies play the Prince and Princess Beauty respectively - but there’s no mention of Sweep and Soo. Does this mean Sooty will have to go it alone on this occasion?

“There’s been a great deal of interest in whether Sweep and Soo will be in the show,” says Richard, “but panto is full of surprises, and I can guarantee that there’ll be millions of surprises in this production. I can’t tell you whether or not they’ll be there, but wouldn’t it be great if they were - and I’m sure the audience would love it. I’ll have to speak to Sooty, and to Sweep and Soo’s agent, to see whether they’re working and what their contractual agreements are over the Christmas period!”

With Sooty’s sidekicks at the forefront of our conversation, I ask Richard if he can enlighten us about the relationship between Sooty and Soo.

“People always wonder if something’s going on between Sooty and Soo, but they never ask if anything’s going on between Sooty and Sweep. What we have to remember is that all three of them are blessed with the same magic as Peter Pan - they never grow old. Sooty is eternally five, Soo is six and Sweep is forever four. So in the way that a five-year-old and six-year-old could be boyfriend and girlfriend, Sooty and Soo are forever that; an innocent pairing who love each other very much. I must add that Soo can’t stand Sweep, although she’s very patient and does tolerate him.”

Magic is a game-changer in panto, and with Magic Circle member McGee on board, audiences are promised a real spectacle of a show - as Richard points out: “I don’t think you can have too much magic in panto, and what Qdos have very cleverly done is align Debbie and Sooty so that their magic is very much a joint effort and they won’t be competing against each other.”

A professional magician himself, Richard reveals that Sleeping Beauty features some really big Las Vegas-style illusions - ones which, at the time of our interview, are being prepared in the States by the same people who provide props for David Copperfield. 

Although not wishing to give too much away, Richard does reveal one of the tricks which Qdos have up their pantomime sleeve: “With the help of Doreen Tipton - so no guarantees it will happen! - we’re going to attempt the classic sawing-in-half trick live on stage. For the first time in the history of magic, we’ll be sawing audience members in half on stage without the aid of boxes or covers. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but with Doreen in tow, anything could happen. This really will be something that you need to see to believe...”

All this talk of magic is the cue for Sooty to wake from his box - just in time for a quick photo before we head off in search of the Lovely Debbie McGee.

Sleeping Beauty shows at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre from Sat 8 December until Sunday 13 January.