Full cast revealed for St Helens Theatre Royal’s Christmas Spectacular

St Helens audiences are being invited to join a high-flying adventure this Christmas – and the full stellar cast for the spectacular seasonal show has now been revealed.

Regal Entertainments Ltd presents The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan at the theatre from Saturday 28 November 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027. Tickets are priced from £20.

The Chase’s superstar quizzer Mark ‘the Beast’ Labbett is set to take on the role of Pan’s dastardly hook-handed nemesis in the unmissable new production.

And today it can be announced that he will be joined on stage by Strictly star Flavia Cacace as Tinkerbell, alongside Connor Darren James, Lauren McCrory and St Helens pantomime favourites Lewis Devine and Richard Aucott.

Family audiences can expect plenty of unforgettable magical moments as the thrilling, high-flying adventure unfolds on the Theatre Royal stage, putting the ‘Pan’ firmly into panto.

Mark Labbett will play Captain Hook. Known to millions as ‘The Beast’, Mark is best known as one of the Chasers on ITV1’s smash-hit quiz show The Chase. He joined the programme in 2009 and later became the sole Chaser on the American version in 2013, before joining the Australian version in 2016 as one of its Chasers.

Mark first appeared on our screens as a contestant on Mastermind in 1999. Since then, he has appeared on BrainTeaser, Countdown, SUDO-Q, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Only Connect, The National Lottery People’s Quiz, Are You an Egghead? and University Challenge. More recently, he has starred in The Chasers’ Road Trip and The Chase Around the World.

Flavia Cacace brings sparkle to St Helens as Tinkerbell. Strictly Come Dancing star Flavia moved to Britain from her native Italy when she was five and started dancing at a young age. In 1995 she was partnered with Vincent Simone, the start of a successful 25-year dance partnership which saw the pair win a host of UK and international dance competitions. She spent eight years as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.

Her panto credits include Snow White at the London Palladium and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Worthing Pavilion.

Connor Darren James is Peter Pan. Connor, who makes his St Helens panto debut this Christmas, is a graduate of the prestigious East 15 Acting School where he studied acting and physical theatre. His stage credits include Zach in The Engagement Party at Oldham Coliseum, Sean in Innit the Musical at the Lowry, and Oskar in Let the Right One In. His screen credits include the film Goodbye St Christopher.

Lauren McCrory plays Wendy. Lauren previously appeared at St Helens Theatre Royal playing Princess Jill in Jack and the Beanstalk. Her other credits for Regal Entertainments include Beauty in Beauty and the Beast and Wendy in Peter Pan. She has also appeared as Cinderella at the ODEON Liverpool.

Lewis Devine returns, this time as Smee. Audience favourite Lewis most recently appeared at St Helens playing Muddles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Simple Simon in Jack and the Beanstalk and Idle Jack in Dick Whittington. Other roles for Regal Entertainments include Silly Billy in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, French Frank in Beauty and the Beast, Wishee Washee in Aladdin, Chester the Jester in Sleeping Beauty and Buttons in Cinderella.

Coming from a talented performing family, Lewis won the first ever Kids Stars in Their Eyes as Donny Osmond and is part of a comedy show band called Schooner with his father Terry. Away from the stage, he runs The Devine Theatre Company to develop Merseyside youngsters in the entertainment industry.

And Richard Aucott appears as Mrs Smee. Recent appearances at St Helens include Nurse Nelly in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dame Dolly Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk. His other credits for Regal Entertainments include Felicity Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington, Widow Twankey in Aladdin, Dame Gertie in Goldilocks, Potty Polly in Beauty and the Beast and Ugly Sister Borisina in Cinderella.

Richard first set foot on stage aged 13 as the back end of a pantomime horse in Toad of Toad Hall. . Starting at the bottom he made his way up the ladder until at 18 he played his first Dame. Since then, he has appeared in almost 30 pantos up and down the country, mostly as the Dame. He also makes most of his own stage costumes. His other theatre credits include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Mr Woodhouse/Mr Elton in Emma, and Alan Bennett in The Lady in the Van as well as roles in The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing and The Herbal Bed.

Regal Entertainments Ltd has been bringing top quality and star-studded productions to the North-West for more than 20 years. It is run by the theatrical powerhouse mother and daughter duo of Jane Joseph and Chantelle Joseph who produce top quality drama, comedy and panto productions which continue to break box office records.

It produces four pantomimes at St Helens – at Easter, Christmas and in the February and October half term holidays, with tens of thousands of theatregoers enjoying the fantastic family-friendly fun each year.

Panto director and St Helens Theatre Manager Chantelle Joseph says: “We’ve got a fantastically talented cast lined up to entertain theatregoers of all ages at St Helens Theatre Royal this Christmas, headed by Mark Labett as Captain Hook. I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Flavia and Connor to the Regal Entertainments family for the first time, and to welcome back Lauren, Lewis and Richard who are all real favourites with our incredible family audiences.

“The Adventures of Peter Pan is set to be a swashbuckling escapade, and it’s got off to an amazing start, becoming officially the biggest ever pre-sale in Regal panto history at St Helens Theatre Royal. Tickets are flying out of the door faster than you can say ‘I believe in fairies’, so if you haven’t booked yours yet, don’t delay.”

The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan plays at St Helens Theatre Royal Saturday 28 November 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027. Tickets are available here.