19 Sep 2025
The countdown has now officially begun for this year’s Alban Arena Christmas pantomime, and Laura Bill went along to meet the star-studded cast…
I look down at my notes and see in BIG LETTERS “Congratulate Steve on his NTA”.
EastEnders star Steve McFadden recently won the Serial Drama Performance category at the National Television Awards, but I realise I want to call it an NTA award which would make it an ‘award award’ which can’t possibly work.
Yes, Phil Mitchell is in the same room as me. He’s been in the same room as me for the last 35 years so it feels strangely normal.
Steve is no stranger to Evolution Pantomimes and was here as Fleshcreep in Jack and the Beanstalk in 2014. This year he is booable baddie Abanazar.
There is something so surreal about meeting people who you feel so familiar with and yet don’t know, but he is very kind and gives me plenty of time.
We talked about how well he and the soap’s researchers have covered huge themes such as alcoholism, mental illness and dementia and I shared a little personal anecdote with him about the impact of one of his storylines on my own life.
He was genuinely listening and said he was touched. I could see he was really humble and emotionally connected to life around him, the polar opposite of the Albert Square anti-hero.
Is it difficult being so angry on screen and then going home?
“If anything, any of those elements in you get exorcised. I think it’s quite good therapy for me. I’m not an angry young man any more, but [portraying Phil] has always been quite easy, I’ve never had to dig deep.
“You know, I like to do some comedy as well. If I get any comedy in the script I grab it with both hands and make the most of it. But whatever they give you, you make it work.
“Honestly, the advice I give to any new actor there is to make it work – [the scriptwriters] have got a hard job coming up with stuff, and our job is to make it work.”
For Steve, pantomime offers some light relief from his on-screen drama, even though he usually plays a baddie: “You never really want to scare anybody, it’s tongue in cheek, it’s a motif of a baddie, not like a really evil or horrible person.”
He is still in touch with his onscreen brother Grant (Ross Kemp) and although he’s not sure whether he will come to see the show he is hoping for a visit from fellow EastEnders Jake Wood and Kellie Bright, who are both regular visitors to St Albans.
Steve is hoping to explore the city during his second Arena run: “I do like to get around and get a feel of the place. I did actually think about moving to St Albans [from London] at one stage, but I decided I didn’t really want to swap one traffic jam for another!”
Steve said he may be joined by panto co-star Bob Golding, who he went to see in his latest sell-out show: “Me and him get around, we’re mates. I went to see him in [comedy bio play] The Last Laugh twice. The first time was a press night, and I went along and loved it, so I went back and took my family. It was fantastic.”
He will also be bringing them to see Aladdin: “The two times the whole family get together is in the summer and at Christmas, and they’ll always come to see me if I’m doing panto.”
Back at the Arena for the third time is the brilliant Damian Patton, nephew of The Chuckle Brothers and a talented actor and comedian in his own right. He is playing comedy cop PC World and said he is looking forward to spending some time in St Albans over Christmas, including grabbing breakfast in the nearby Saint and Sinner.
“It’s a great little city. This launch event really kickstarts my Christmas. You see the photos with you and the cast and then there’s the trailer in another couple of weeks. It’s so exciting, I do like it. I’ll put the poster on my office wall with the rest of them!”
This will be Damian’s 19th pantomime and his family are justifiably proud of his success: “My dad comes to see me every year. My family are in the industry as well and it’s good carrying on in their footsteps.”
Aladdin rehearsals start on November 22 with the show opening just two weeks later, so how does he learn his lines in such a short turnaround? “I find as soon as I’m doing it on stage it cements itself. I can read the script hundreds of times but it doesn’t really sink in until I’m standing there on the stage. We’ve only got five full days of rehearsals and then a week of tech.
“Paul [Hendy, Evolution Pantomimes producer and scriptwriter] did the comedy roles for years and he knows what works.
“But if for instance I came to him with an idea, like ‘could we add a splosh scene in someplace’, he might say ‘oh yeah, we haven’t done that for a while, I’ll add it in,’ or ‘no we did that last year’. Really though it’s a case of ‘in Paul we trust’ because he’s so brilliant. It’s not just the story, it’s the bits for the grown-ups and everyone, and he knows what works.”
We then meet up with the needs-no-introduction Bob Golding, in full costume as Dame Dolly. Having known the guy at least 20 years and interviewed him on an almost annual basis over the course of his time as Alban Arena panto legend ©, it’s arguably something of a challenge to find something new to say, but on we go…
He’s full of praise for co-star Steve: “He’s such a beautiful man, a force of nature. He came to see the play [The Last Laugh] and he’s always got nice things to say.
“You know, on a previous show together he was wearing plaits and had a little gingham dress on!
“He disguised himself as a little girl in one of the scenes for Jack and the Beanstalk and was getting fitted for that, and I was like, ‘oh my God’!”
He first met Steve during a brief run on EastEnders back in 2013, and they have been friends ever since: “We text each other all through the year. I love him dearly, he’s always been so kind and generous to me.”
After a bit of a chat about Bob’s new house (a 17th century stone cottage in Northamptonshire), his gorgeous dachshund puppy Dudley and it being his wedding anniversary, I ask about his long-term sidekick Ian Kirkby not being in this year’s show. “He’s doing the international theatre tour of Dear England,” he reveals, “so this year’s panto is going to be the biggest and funniest one we’ve ever done!”
My editor Matt literally blushed on my behalf when we had the absolute pleasure of meeting the lovely Jamal Kane Crawford aka The Genie of the Lamp. (I think I had just congratulated him on how white his teeth were. Or maybe it was that he was the finest looking genie I had ever seen, or was squeezed into a very revealing costume. Either way, the mums are going to love him.)
He played Tyrone Jackson in Fame The Musical’s UK tour and has also been in various other West End productions, films and the Wowcher advert.
“My last theatre role was An Officer and a Gentleman in like a sergeant’s uniform, so this is the complete opposite to what I was wearing then!
“This isn’t my first panto but I’ve not actually been to St Albans before. I live in Canary Wharf. I love Christmas, and panto is always such a great vibe. I’m so glad I chose this one, because I nearly did Swansea!”
The cast also includes Dave Bibby as Charlie, Rosanna Harris as Spirit of the Ring and Emily Tang as Princess Jasmine. It is being directed by Dorcas Wood and produced by Evolution Pantomimes.
It promises to be another cracking festive show – with new chairs and fancy toilets at the Arena as they are currently having a refurb, so don’t miss out as tickets are already selling fast.
Aladdin runs from December 5 to 31. To book tickets go to everyonetheatres.com/whats-on/aladdin-2025/
