Scarlett Moffatt explains why she approached Sunderland Empire bosses to be in Cinderella

Usually theatres spend months in negotiations with household names like Scarlett to appear in their pantos, but the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here winner is such a regular to the High Street West theatre that she approached them for her debut panto performance.

She’ll be sprinkling some Christmas magic over Wearside in the role of Fairy Godmother in Cinderella which runs from December 13 – January 5. Ahead of the festive spectacular, she met up with fellow cast members: cabaret comedian Miss Rory as Rorina Hardup, Duncan Burt as her ugly sister Ruby, Nick Jnr’s Gemma Naylor (Go! Go! Go!) as Cinderella, ITV’s Superstars finalist Jon Moses as the Prince and Tom Whalley as Buttons for a photo call.

Speaking to the Echo, County Durham-born Scarlett , who rose to fame in Gogglebox with her family, said: “I’m so excited because the Empire is like my second home. If you've ever been to the theatre you’ve probably seen me kicking about. I’ve seen everything here, from panto to the ballet.

“Normally pantos are all about agents and I've been asked to do panto before, but to me panto is all about spending time with family. We always joke we’re like the County Durham Von Trapps because we do everything together. I knew I wanted to be home this year, but still wanted to do something fun. So I rang the Empire and said if they didn’t already have someone, and if they had a spot, could I be in the panto and here I am.”

Stepping into the stilettos of one of the ugly sisters will be Miss Rory who’s known for her cabaret show at Boulevard in Newcastle.

Miss Rory, aka Dan Cunningham, said: “I’ve seen a draft of the script and it’s going to be a great show. It’s a traditional family show with some innuendo thrown in and a strong North East flavour.”

*Tickets for Cinderella are available here.