From Big Brother to Bake Off, Alison Hammond has become a Birmingham icon. Alongside her Panto sidekick, the hilarious Matt Slack, she's been getting Brummies laughing throughout Peter Pan. We spoke to the duo backstage about their roles and the season's success.
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00:00It's been absolutely wonderful, I mean I had a great time last year, my first panto, it was, what was it, it was er...
00:07Jack and the Beanstalk, it was only last year.
00:10And it was just one of the most wonderful experiences ever, so it was kind of like a no-brainer to come back.
00:15As Alison Hammond and Matt Slack continue to entertain Birmingham in Peter Pan, the story behind the curtain is just as exciting.
00:23Two apprentices have kick-started their theatre careers through a WMCA-backed scheme,
00:28highlighting opportunities for young talent in the region.
00:32So at the moment we're on Peter Pan Pantomime, and it's given me the opportunity to shadow all of the technicians at the Hippodrome
00:39and to work closely and learn from them.
00:41It's a great way to learn a lot about a lot of different departments, which I feel will help me going forward.
00:47I mean I'm getting work experience every day, I mean I know exactly what it's like to work on shows, because that is what I'm doing.
00:56So I couldn't really ask for a more relevant work experience.
01:00Every day is different, so the goal is to get the show up and running so the audience enjoy it,
01:05but there's always little things that can go wrong.
01:08It's live theatre, it's overcoming those problems, and working with people backstage have been brilliant.
01:16The apprenticeship scheme has given young people like Tegan and Laura the chance to turn their passion into a career.
01:23Their work behind the scenes has been vital to bring the magic to life.
01:27Alison Hammond and Matt Slack reflect on the joy they've brought to Brummie families this Panto season.
01:35It's been great, we've had a great time, haven't we?
01:37It's been lovely, the audiences have just been so warm and lovely.
01:40And busy, it's packed.
01:42Every day, every single show, I want to see an empty show once.
01:46No you do not, don't say that, edit that a bit.
01:49We want it full, all these seats we want full.
01:51It's been a joy though, we've got a wonderful cast, a wonderful company, a wonderful crew,
01:55and everybody that works in this theatre is like a big family, they're all fantastic.