John Challis to star in Venue Cymru panto

Sep 11 2008 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

John Challis

PANTO season is around the corner- and the build up to the festive celebrations began in Llandudno last week with the launch of Dick Whittington.

The show stars Only Fools and Horses’ John Challis, fellow BBC actor Kai Owen from Torchwood, who plays Dick, comedian John Evans as the Captain and local girl Kate Galston, who plays the Fairy Godmother.

John Challis explained playing King Rat wasn’t far removed from the role which made him famous – used-car salesman Boycie.

“I’ve done King Rat a couple of times but I’ve been doing panto for the past 15 or so years,” he said.

“He is traditionally an East End criminal, ducking and diving so it is that sort of Del Boy, Only Fools’ world he comes from, so there is quite a connection [to Boycie] there I suppose.

“But King Rat is a villain, a criminal he is always dodging about looking to nick things. He is like a typical East End little scallywag, but he happens to be very good at what he does so he is the king of all the rats. He has lots of little rats with him and they try to take over London.”

However while King Rat also has a comic element, John said he wasn’t afraid to explore the villain’s dark side: “All my villains have a sense of humour but I think that evil has got be quite strong to get the balance right, otherwise if the villain comes in completely stupid and daft from the word go and everyone makes fun of him then I think it has negated that balance.”

John is also looking forward to returning to Llandudno having last played the resort in the 1960s.

“One of my first jobs in theatre was in Llandudno in the old Palladium Theatre which is now Wetherspoon’s (pub), but they’ve kept a lot of the interior and indeed the exterior, last time I was here I went up there and I thought they had preserved it very well,” he said.

“I’ve got great, fond memories of that – that was a very different time of course, 1964. But this is the first time I’ve worked here since so I obviously wasn’t very good in 1964 and it is only now they’ve decided to ask me back, but I love being by the seaside at Christmas!”

Dick Whittington is showing between December 12 and January 4 2009. Tickets are on sale now at the box office on 01492 872000 or log onto www.venuecymru.co.uk