TV TALENT is set to boost the star appeal at one of Suffolk's favourite pantomimes.

Will Clarke

TV TALENT is set to boost the star appeal at one of Suffolk's favourite pantomimes.

Stars from ITV's Grease is the Word and the BBC's How do you solve a problem like Maria are set to light up the stage at the Bury St Edmunds' Theatre Royal production Puss in Boots.

Singing sensations Helena Blackman and Bradley Clarkson will be starring in this year's panto as Puss and Jack the Millers son. They were both finalists in the TV shows.

Miss Blackman said: “We've both been in pantos before and are really keen to take to the stage again.

“There's nothing like the buzz you get from interacting with the audience at Christmas, the kids love it and you have real liberty to have fun and ad-lib with the jokes.

“We're now in our second week of rehearsals and everything is going really well - I think we can all say this is the funniest production any of us have performed in and it is going to be really magical when it goes on stage.”

This year also features the return of regular panto dame James Nickerson.

Mr Nickerson performed in Bury pantos for eight years before the theatre's restoration in 2005. He will be returning to play the part of Nellie Gwynne, would-be lover to King Charles II.

Puss in Boots is an “heroic adventure in old England”, telling the tale of how Jack, a poor miller's son, helps King Charles seek his rightful throne.

England is under the tyranny of Oliver Cromwell, a Scottish ogre who wants to “rid the land of fun and japes”.

But with Puss, Jack sets out for a fantastical journey to win fame, fortune and true love.

For tickets, further details and performance times please call the box office on 01284 769505 or visit www.theatreroyal.org