Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee
- Publication: MK News
- Date: 2014-11-26
- Author: Judy Riley
- Page: 34
- Language: English
WATCH out, Bradley Walsh is back. Oh, no he isn't! Oh, yes he Jolly Roger well is!
Bradley is playing Mr Smee, Captain Hook's right-hand man in this year's Christmas show, so let mayhem commence.
Fellow cast members who have been conscientious enough to learn the script of Peter Pan might want to look away now. Bradley's reputation goes before him when it comes to panto. Anything can and most probably will, happen. JUDY RILEY talked to the star of the hit series Law & Order and game show The Chase about his first taste of panto, his worst moment onstage in panto and what tricks he'll be up to in this panto.
Do you remember the first panto you saw?
The first panto I saw was at the Watford Palace Theatre. I can't remember what it was but it was either Aladdin or Cinderella.
Did you feel at the time 'I'd like to get up there and do that'?
Not necessarily. We sat up in what was then 'the gods' at the theatre and my mum used to let me have ice-cream. It was great! What really turned me on to the theatre was that for my 14th birthday my mum took me to the London Palladium to see Tommy Steele in Hans Christian Anderson and that was the thing that made me want to go into show business.
How did your family feel about it when you said you wanted to be an actor?
They were really supportive about it. They always said just go ahead and do your stuff, do the best you can and enjoy it.
On the ITV Quiz show, The Chasers are classic 'boo-hiss' baddies. If you were casting them in panto which dastardly villains would they be?
The beast would be the Giant in the Jack and the Beanstalk and Ann Hegarty would be the Wicked Queen.
The barrister, Sean Wallis, he would be the Henchman and Paul Sinna, I'd have him in a comedy villain role.
Having appeared in a Dr Who spin-off, Sarah Jane Adventures, do you fancy a part in Dr Who itself as a villain or maybe even as the Doctor?
No, not in particular. I'd like to play another villain in Dr. Who. I was OddBod the Clown and it was great, the ringmaster. So yeah, that would be great.
It's been a few years since you were last here but you've always said how much you enjoyed it, and that's why you've come back. But what was your worst moment on stage in panto?
Without a shadow of a doubt, it has to be when I was at the Theatre Royal Norwich many years ago. Wayne Sleep was topping the bill and there were two other guys, Walker and Cadman, and one of them was dressed up as ET.
He was wearing a mask and it slipped and went out of sync so he couldn't see.
Anyway, he walked straight off the stage and fell onto the piano and smashed the end of it.
We had to stop the performance and get him up. It damaged the piano and he got taken to hospital. I have to say it was a very dangerous thing to do but looking back, it was really funny. It's true, he just couldn't see!
What's the best thing about appearing in panto and in Peter Pan in particular?
Peter Pan is great subject matter but what I'm really looking forward to is seeing David Bedella. He's got a brilliant reputation and apparently is a brilliant Hook.
But also, Flawless have a great reputation from last year and I love that stuff. Unification in dance. They've had rave reviews for their show so I can't wait to see them in action.
Will Bradley's dancing be Flawless?
BRADLEY Walsh will surprise the audience with his dancing capability in this year's panto Peter Pan.
Choreographer Sarah Dean is teaching the cast the steps to this year's dance routines and believes Bradley will
not look out of place on stage with dance troop Flawless, who can be seen here rehearsing at The Chrysalis Theatre on Thursday.
The cast are entering their second week of rehearsals and Sarah is pleased with the stage the cast are at, adding: 'We are pretty much getting it all together."
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Riley, Judy (2014-11-26). Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee. MK News p. 34.
- MLA 7th ed.: Riley, Judy. "Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee." MK News [add city] 2014-11-26, 34. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Riley, Judy. "Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee." MK News, edition, sec., 2014-11-26
- Turabian: Riley, Judy. "Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee." MK News, 2014-11-26, section, 34 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Forget_law_and_order,_the_chase_is_on_for_Mr_Smee | work=MK News | pages=34 | date=2014-11-26 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 April 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Forget law and order, the chase is on for Mr Smee | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Forget_law_and_order,_the_chase_is_on_for_Mr_Smee | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 April 2024}}</ref>
