Winners announced at THE PANTOMIME AWARDS 2025
Photo credit: Victoria Davies
The UK Pantomime Awards just gets bigger and bigger. Now in its fourth year, it's grown from the 630-seater Trafalgar Theatre in its first 2 years to G Live in its third, and now the New Victoria Theatre in Woking where the stalls area is larger than the whole capacity at Trafalgar Theatre, which certainly helps the atmosphere amongst the nominees, producers and judges mingling together. This marvellous celebration of the most traditional of British theatrical entertainments has established itself as the Oliviers of Pantomime but more than that, it is an awards ceremony where though winning is a joy, just sharing the camaraderie and respect that the nominees have for one another is the real pleasure of the evening.
This year, the nominations were based on a total of 52 judges collectively visited 216 venues to see 496 performances across the UK (for the 2024 awards, they visited 259 venues and watched over 728 performances) and the winners spanned the full spectrum of producers and venues. UK Productions scooped three wins (Best Comic, Lighting and Principal Lead) as did Evolution (Best Supporting Artiste, Best Choreography and the Best Panto 900-seats plus for their production at Lyceum Sheffield). Imagine, Little Wolf and Crossroads Pantomimes each won 2 awards: Best Ensemble and Sound, Best Newcomer to Industry and Best Panto 500-900 seats for their Loughborough Town Hall production, and Best Newcomer to Pantomime and Best Magical Being, respectively. Yet while the support of these big producers is critical, the awards celebrates the diversity of producers and venue sizes, and the creativity of some of those working on smaller budgets.
The Greenwich Theatre production of Dick Whittington and his Cat won Best Pantomime under 500 seats as well as Best Script for Anthony Spargo; the Liverpool Everyman won Best Villian for Zoe West in Rapunzel; Theatr Clywd in Mold won Best Contribution to Music for Mother Goose; Anthony Stuart-Hicks won Best Dame for Mercury Theatre Colchester; Chris Jordan won Best Direction for Snow White at Devonshire Park Eastbourne; and Becky Minto won Best Set Design for Mother Goose in Perth. These wonderful regional theatres regularly attract nominations at these awards for their annual Pantomimes.
Our personal favourite winners were Harry Howle and Steven Roberts as the Sisters in Cinderella at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, which included, in our view, one of the highlights of the season with a brilliant beauty salon slosh scene. Another was Wiltshire Creative’s costume designer Katie Lias for her work on Sleeping Beauty. We wrote that “the organisation’s amazing workshops have again produced another fabulous design, and a range of costumes that place the action in the fashion centre of Europe, Salisbury-shire”. The Theatre Royal Windsor was also able to celebrate with Mia Welsh’s win as Best Secondary Lead for Dick Whittington. Claiming to be one of the longest continually running annual pantomimes in the UK, the theatre has long craved recognition for its history and heritage. Indeed, the Theatre Royal was also honoured by the performances of Anita Harris, Basil Brush and Kevin Cruise, all recently seen on its stage as part of the show’s entertainment.
The ceremony was presented by the Scottish Queen of Pantomime, Elaine C Smith, “nineties TV legend” Dave Benson Phillips and the incomparable and naughty La Voix, who added immensely to the comedy and glamour of the evening. It was wonderful to see Michael Harrison, the producer and director behind so many Crossroads shows present Elaine C Smith with the Outstanding Achievement award, recognising her groundbreaking work at the Kings Glasgow and earlier at the Tron, Glasgow, in establishing herself as one of, if not the best, female Comic Dame in the UK pantomime industry. Her enthusiasm for the genre shines through whenever she speaks.
The Pantomime Association also champions innovation and diversity though its special awards. This year, Achievement in Innovation went to Sleeping Beauty at Oxford Playhouse and Inclusive Practice to He’s Behind You at Charing Cross Theatre. There was a very special moment when Andrew Ryan, the husband of the late Nigel Ellacott, whose last performances as a legendary pantomime Dame were at the New Victoria Theatre in 2023/24, announced the Nigel Ellacott Special Recognition Award for Tradition and Heritage of Pantomime to the Brick Lane Music Hall.
Now supported by both ATG Entertainment and Trafalgar Entertainment, two of the leading venue operators in the UK, these awards look set to continue to grow, helping to promote the genre, encourage and support innovation and celebrate the successes that keep pantomime fresh for audiences. These productions are fundamental to the regional theatre economy, which is under such pressure for rising costs of utilities and imposition of higher national insurance and minimal wages on their fragile economics as our Spotlight series of articles has highlighted. The Awards is a chance for the pantomime community to come together and enjoy the shared respect before they all say “we will have to do it again then, won’t we” as they prepare for another season of joy, laughter and mayhem in around 250 venues across the UK each Christmas. Book now to secure best seats for next year shows!
In full, here is the list of The Pantomime Awards 2025 winners:
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Ebony Clarke: Cinderella, Royal & Derngate, Northampton (Evolution Productions)
BEST LIGHTING (sponsored by Production Light and Sound)
Andy Webb: Sleeping Beauty, Festival Theatre, Malvern (UK Productions)
CARMEN SILVERA AWARD FOR BEST MAGICAL BEING:
Danielle Jam: Jack and the Beanstalk, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (Crossroads Pantomimes)
BARBARA WINDSOR AWARD FOR BEST PRINCIPAL LEAD
Mia Overfield: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fairfield Halls, Croydon (UK Productions)
BEST SCRIPT:
Anthony Spargo: Dick Whittington and his Cat, Greenwich Theatre, London (In-House)
BEST SECONDARY LEAD:
Mia Welsh: Dick Whittington, Theatre Royal Windsor (In-House)
BEST VILLAIN (sponsored by Breckman and Company):
Zoe West: Rapunzel, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (In-House)
BEST COMIC:
Steve Royle: Cinderella, Blackpool Grand Theatre (UK Productions)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Katie Lias: Sleeping Beauty, Salisbury Playhouse (Wiltshire Creative)
CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS AWARD FOR BEST DAME
Antony Stuart-Hicks: The New Adventures of Peter Pan, Mercury Theatre, Colchester (In-House)
BEST DIRECTION
Chris Jordan: Snow White, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (Eastbourne Theatres in association with Jordan Productions)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Nikki Schofield, Alanna Panditaratne, James Everest, Ariel Nyandoro, Jacob Stebbings: Peter Pan, Victoria Theatre, Halifax (Imagine Theatre)
BEST CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC
Tayo Akinbode: Mother Goose, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto, Theatr Clwyd, Mold (In-House)
BEST SET DESIGN (sponsored by Blue-i)
Becky Minto: Mother Goose, Perth Theatre (In-House)
BEST SISTERS
Harry Howle and Steven Roberts: Cinderella, Cambridge Arts Theatre (In-House)
BEST SOUND (sponsored by Orbital Sound)
Kate Harvey: Jack and the Beanstalk, Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford (Imagine Theatre)
BEST SUPPORTING ARTIST
Marc Pickering: Snow White, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions)
BEST NEWCOMER TO PANTOMIME
Owain Wyn Evans: Cinderella, New Theatre, Cardiff (Crossroads Pantomimes)
BEST NEWCOMER TO INDUSTRY
Emma Robertson: Snow White, Loughborough Town Hall (Little Wolf Entertainment)
BEST PANTOMIME (UNDER 500 SEATS) (sponsored by Showtime, a Howden Company)
Dick Whittington and his Cat, Greenwich Theatre (In-House)
BEST PANTOMIME (500 – 900 SEATS)
Snow White, Loughborough Town Hall (Little Wolf Entertainment)
BEST PANTOMIME (OVER 900 SEATS)
Snow White, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PANTOMIME
Elaine C Smith
ACHIEVEMENT IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
He’s Behind You!
ACHIEVEMENT IN INNOVATION
Oxford Playhouse
NIGEL ELLACOTT SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR PANTOMIME HISTORY, TRADITION AND HERITAGE
Brick Lane Music Hall
Nick Wayne