FOLLOWING last year’s record breaking pantomime which saw nearly 20,000 people visit Fareham’s Ferneham Hall to see Todd Carty in Dick Whittington and his Cat, the venue has announced that this year’s pantomime will be Sleeping Beauty, starring Noel Sullivan.

The former Hear'Say singer, who has starred in We Will Rock You, Rock of Ages, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Mayflower Theatre, will lead the cast as the all-singing Prince Valliant , whose job it is to wake Princess Belle from her hundred-year sleep!

Noel shot to stardom more 15 ago in Popstars – the TV series which put together the band Hear’Say and paved the way for other reality talent shows such as The X Factor. At just 20 years old he gave up his job in Wales as a waiter and moved to London and, along with other bandmates Myleene Klass, Kim Marsh, Suzanne Shaw and Danny Foster, Hear’Say’s debut track, Pure and Simple, became the fastest selling number one single in the UK at the time.

Since the band split up in 2002 Noel has been a regular on TV, having made appearances in Gavin and Stacey, The Royal Variety Show and Trust Me I’m a Holiday Rep and he will once again be on our screens this autumn as a regular character in the second series of BBC hit drama Ordinary Lies, starring alongside EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo, Griff Rhys Jones, Angela Griffin and Jill Halfpenny.

Noel is no stranger to the stage and has been in London’s West End starring as Danny Zuko in Grease.

From the team behind last year’s smash hit panto, music, laughter, amazing special effects and plenty of surprises are promised from the show, which runs from December 9 over Christmas.

Visit fernehamhall.co.uk or call 01329 231942 for tickets.