WITH Lisa Riley waltzing her way to success on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, the Kings Theatre’s pantomime has been left without an evil queen.

But fans that are eager to see Lisa in the role of Queen Malevola will not be disappointed as former Emmerdale costar Adele Silva has come to her friend’s rescue and slips perfectly into Lisa’s sparkly shoes.

Despite only having four days’ rehearsal with the cast and probably the most lines to learn, Adele plays a wickedly menacing queen with the most devilish cackle you’ve ever heard.

A performer that doesn’t really need a script is comic Aiden J Harvey (Muddles) who returns to the theatre for the second time in recent years.

Full of life and enthusiasm, Aiden is a bit like the glue holding the story together with his comic routines and his ability to get the audience, young and old, involved in the show.

Another popular star is Marcus Patrick, who made his debut last year at the Kings and is back this year as the Huntsman. Definitely one for the ladies, Marcus preens his way around the stage and is not afraid to send himself up.

My five-year-old daughter’s favourite character was Fairy Sparkle played by Jen Pringle from Channel Five’s Milkshake! Those of you with small children, who are early risers, will know Jen and her colleagues very well. She had enough energy to light up a whole rowof Christmas trees and it’ll be an impressive feat if she manages to maintain this level of high energy until the end of the panto’s run.

And who can watch a performance of Snow White without giving a mention to her seven miniature friends.

Stars of Channel 4’s fly on the wall documentary Seven Dwarves Max Laird and Karen Anderson were just two of the mini crew and Max got the biggest laugh of the night when he went diving head first across the stage in the show’s Twelve Days of Christmas sketch.

Throw in a handsome prince, cute rabbits and a Gangnam Style meets Thriller dance routine, and all the ingredients are there for a quality pantomime.