Eastenders Legend To Star In Brighton Christmas Panto

Eastenders legend Anita Dobson has been revealed as the star act for the first ever panto at the iconic Brighton Centre this December.

Best known as the cheeky Angie Watts in the top soap EastEnders, Anita will be playing evil Abanazar in Aladdin, which is being staged from Wednesday December 22 until Monday December 27.

She is joined by children's TV star Carl Tracey, Brighton favourites The Sundaes and popular BBC Sussex breakfast presenter Allison Ferns.

Brighton production company E3 Events has previously staged three successful pantos at the Hilton Brighton Metropole - and producers David Hill and Lukas Wojcik say Aladdin is set to be a massive hit in this bigger venue.

David Hill said:

"We are absolutely thrilled to have secured such a big household name as Anita to star in our panto.

"She is best known for her unbelievable double act with Dirty Den in EastEnders, but of course there's so much more to Anita.

"She is also a West End star appearing in musicals including Wicked, Annie, Fiddler on the Roof and Chicago.

"We couldn't be more excited. We now have some great names in place, and judging by the amount of tickets we’ve sold already, we are confident it will be a sell-out."

Anita is married to Queen rock superstar Brian May, who will be coming down to support her.

David said:

"Carl, who's playing Aladdin, is a big name in children’s TV so he will be popular with the families.

"And what can I say about Allison? She has made a massive impact since taking over the breakfast programme on BBC Sussex earlier this year, and we are over the moon to have her on board again.

"Brighton - and Sussex - deserves the very best Christmas family panto after all the turmoil of the last two years.

"Well, we are going to deliver just that. 

"Book your tickets today - they are going very fast indeed. 

"We look forward to seeing you all at the amazing Brighton Centre - I can't think of a better venue for this years’ panto."

There are ten shows running from December 22-27, including three on Christmas Eve.