The ITV Panto was a series of pantomime

Pantomime

Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

s originally broadcast on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 (ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

/STV/UTV

UTV

UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...

) in 1998, 2000, and 2002. All written by Simon Nye

Simon Nye

Simon Nye is an English comic television writer, best known for creating the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, writing all of the four ITV Panto, co-writing the 2006 film Flushed Away, co-writing Reggie Perrin and creating the latest adaption of William Brown in the Just William CBBC...

, they included an array of celebrities playing the lead roles. There were only four shows recorded; Dick Whittington in 2002 having been the final in the series.

The recordings are broadcast every year on ITV2

ITV2

ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...

 in the run up to Christmas. On Christmas Day, the pantomimes are shown back-to-back.

Pantomimes

(In order of original broadcast date)

• Jack and the Beanstalk (original broadcast: 25 December 1998) - Filmed at the Old Vic Theatre.
• Cinderella (original broadcast: 2 January 2000) - Filmed at the Brixton Academy.
• Aladdin (original broadcast: 25 December 2000) - Filmed at the New Wimbledon Theatre
  New Wimbledon Theatre
  The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J B Mullholland. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds the theatre was designed by...
  
  .
• Dick Whittington (original broadcast: 1 January 2002) - Filmed at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

All televised pantomimes are listed here:
http://www.its-behind-you.com/tvpanto.html

Recurring cast members and special guest singing group

During the run of the pantomimes there were a lot of famous faces which are easy to recognise today. Some of the famous faces included:

• Julian Clary
  Julian Clary
  Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
  
   - appeared in all four shows
• Paul Merton
  Paul Merton
  Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
  
   - appeared in all four shows
• Harry Hill
  Harry Hill
  Harry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
  
   - appeared in two shows
• Griff Rhys Jones
  Griff Rhys Jones
  Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
  
   - appeared in two shows
• Richard Wilson - Sally the Cook - Dick Whittington
• Julie Walters
  Julie Walters
  Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
  
   - Jack and the Beanstalk
• Denise Van Outen
  Denise van Outen
  Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
  
   - Jack and the Beanstalk
• Alexander Armstrong
  Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
  Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
  
   - Prince Charming - Cinderella
• Ben Miller
  Ben Miller
  Bennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
  
   - Dandini - Cinderella
• Frank Skinner
  Frank Skinner
  Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
  
   - Buttons - Cinderella
• Kevin Bishop
  Kevin Bishop
  Kevin Bishop is an English actor and comedian, best known for his own programme, The Kevin Bishop Show, which he co-writes with Lee Hupfield, and the role of Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island.-Life and career:...
  
   - Dick Whittington - Dick Whittington
• James Fleet
  James Fleet
  James Edward Fleet is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the dim-witted Hugo Horton in the BBC situation comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.-Personal life:Fleet...
  
   - Alderman Fitzwarren - Dick Whittington
• Lee Mack
  Lee Mack
  Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
  
   - Idle Jack - Dick Whittington

As well as the famous cast, two of the four shows would include a performance from famous groups of that year. The groups included were:

• S Club 7
  S Club 7
  S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...
  
  , performed during the show Aladdin
• Hear’Say
  Hear’Say
  Hear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...
  
  , performed in Dick Whittington.

Cast

Character	Actor
Aladdin
Aladdin	Ed Byrne Ed Byrne Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...
Genie of the Lamp	Julian Clary Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
Abanazer	Martin Clunes Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin....
Princess	Patsy Kensit Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
Wishee Washee	Ralf Little Ralf Little Ralf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
Spirit of the Ring	Paul Merton Paul Merton Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
Police chief	Billy Murray Billy Murray (actor) Billy Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare...
Prince Hugely Suave	Leslie Phillips Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
Emperor	Griff Rhys Jones Griff Rhys Jones Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
Princess's handmaiden	Lisa Riley Lisa Riley Lisa Riley is a British television presenter and actress probably best known for playing the role of Mandy Dingle in the television soap opera Emmerdale and succeeding Jeremy Beadle on You've Been Framed.-Career:...
Widow Twankey	John Savident John Savident John Savident is a British actor, best known for playing the part of Fred Elliott in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006. And also was a frequent guest on Soccer AM alongside fellow actor Jack 'The Rigger' Spooner....
Cinderella
Cinderella	Samantha Womack
Buttons	Frank Skinner Frank Skinner Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
Evil Baroness	Siân Phillips Siân Phillips Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
Griselda	Ronnie Corbett Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
Lucretia	Paul Merton Paul Merton Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
Dandini	Ben Miller Ben Miller Bennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
The Good Fairy	Julian Clary Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
Prince Charming	Alexander Armstrong Alexander Armstrong (comedian) Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
Master of Ceremony's	Harry Hill Harry Hill Harry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
Dick Whittington
Dick Whittington	Kevin Bishop Kevin Bishop Kevin Bishop is an English actor and comedian, best known for his own programme, The Kevin Bishop Show, which he co-writes with Lee Hupfield, and the role of Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island.-Life and career:...
Queen of Tonga	Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie is an English actress.-Career:Born as Shirley Anne Broadbent, Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on Sea. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
The Major	Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
Chris the Cat	Julian Clary Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
Mrs Fitzwarren	Vanessa Feltz Vanessa Feltz Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
Alderman Fitzwarren	James Fleet James Fleet James Edward Fleet is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the dim-witted Hugo Horton in the BBC situation comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.-Personal life:Fleet...
The Painter	Harry Hill Harry Hill Harry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
Idle Jack	Lee Mack Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
Tricky Pete	Paul Merton Paul Merton Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
Maid of Tonga	Tina O'Brien Tina O'Brien Tina O'Brien is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Acting career:...
Alice Fitzwarren	Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer.-Career:At the age of fourteen Stephenson appeared on BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, winning her way through to the All-Winners' Final, broadcast live from the London Palladium...
The Good Fairy	Jessica Hynes
King Rat	Mark Williams Mark Williams (actor) Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....
Sally the Cook	Richard Wilson
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack	Neil Morrissey Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
Dame Dolly	Adrian Edmondson Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
Baron Wasteland	Griff Rhys Jones Griff Rhys Jones Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
Jill	Denise van Outen Denise van Outen Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
Goldilocks	Morwenna Banks Morwenna Banks Morwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...
Fairy Godmother	Julie Walters Julie Walters Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
First Henchman/Tim	Julian Clary Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
Second Henchman	Peter Serafinowicz Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
Harp	Will Barton
Cow	Vince Williams Vince Williams Vince Williams was an American actor from Natchitoches, Louisiana, best known for his role as "Hampton Speakes" on Guiding Light, which he played from 1987 to 1996....
	John Willett John Willett John Willett was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English.-Early life:Willett was educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford...
Narrator	Paul Merton Paul Merton Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...