Shirley Ballas to star in Blackpool Winter Gardens' Cinderella, the first pantomime at the venue in 60 years

Shirley Ballas will star in the upcoming Winter Gardens staging of Cinderella this Christmas – the first pantomime at the Blackpool venue in over 60 years.

Ballas, who is the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing and has previously appeared in pantomimes in Liverpool and Darlington, will star as The Fairy Godmother in the show, which runs from 13 December 2020 to Sunday 3 January 2021. She said today: "I'm so thrilled to be coming home to Blackpool this Christmas. I have made so many special memories there. To be coming back to be part of the first pantomime there in over 60 years is such an honour. I can't wait!". Further casting is to be announced soon.

The pantomime is produced by Winter Gardens Blackpool and Mark Goucher and will have 100 tickets priced at £10 for each performance during the run. It is written by Samuel Holmes, directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, musically supervised and arranged Charlie Ingles with special effects by The Twins FX.

Ballas will not be performing on 19 December, due to Strictly commitments.