The magic carpet ride begins for the Victoria Theatre in Halifax as it unveils cast members of its Christmas panto.

Aladdin will once again feature local favourite Neil Hurst, this time playing the loveable Wishee Washee, while Adam Stafford will return to play Widow Twankey.

Adam previously played Dame Dorothy Do It in the Victoria Theatre’s 2012 production of Beauty and the Beast.

This will be Neil’s ninth year playing the comic in the Halifax panto.

He said: “I love playing Wishee Washee, I have actually played this particular role more than any other in my panto career.

“One of my all-time-favourite panto scenes is the laundry scene where I accidentally get squashed through the mangle.

“The whole process of this requires me to have a ‘flat’ version of myself made up weeks before, this is usually a life-size photo of me with a shocked look on my face.

“Obviously at the end of each run the producers have no use for a 5ft 10 cut out photo of me so I get to keep it. I now have four of these in my loft at various ages in my career.

“They used to come in handy too when my daughters were babies.

“When they were feeling lonely at night and just wanted Mummy or Daddy there to keep them safe we started putting the cut out Wishee Washee’s propped up at the end of their cots… it worked a treat!”

Neil has recently been appearing in The Good Old Days of Variety with Billy Pearce as well as filming Hopping The Pond for US television.

Visit victoriatheatre.co.uk or call 01422 351158 to book tickets.