Sid Owen to headline Panto as Captain Hook!

A popular actor, best known for his role in the long-running soap EastEnders, will be starring in Peter Pan, the pantomime at Marina Theatre this year.

Sid Owen, who played Ricky Butcher in the programme over an 18 year span, will take on the role of Captain Hook in the sparkling family panto – which runs from December 13 until January 1.

In the soap, Ricky was the son of popular character Frank Butcher and was famously known for his relationship with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) throughout the 1990’s.

After leaving the soap to try his hand in the music industry, Sid released the song ‘Good Thing Going’ which reached number 14 in the UK Singles Charts in June 2000. He then took part in the fifth series of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! In 2005 Sid went on to appear in ITV’s prison drama Bad Girls and The Bill a year later. Sid made a return to EastEnders between 2008 and 2011 before taking a break to dedicate more time to his charity work with Drop 4 Drop which aims to help with the global water crisis in developing countries. In 2012 he appeared in the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he partnered with Ola Jordan.

Sid joins the cast alongside popular funny man Terry Gleed – returning to the Marina for the fourth year in a row. This year Terry will play Smee, Captain Hook's hilarious bo'sun.

With amazing performances full of pirates and fairy dust Marina Theatre will introduce or reacquaint audiences to Wendy, Michael and John Darling as they fly over London with Peter Pan to join the Lost Boys and Tinker Bell as they turn right at the second star and fly away to Neverland where Captain Hook wants to outwit and out-manoeuvre our heroes.

Emma Butler Smith, CEO at Marina Theatre, said, ‘We’re really excited we’ve managed to ‘hook’ Sid for this year’s panto. It’s great to have someone so well-known coming to the town again. We hope Sid will feel right at home as Lowestoft will ring with calls of ‘Hookyyyyyy!’

Directed by Di Cooke, who started her career as a dancer in shows and pantomimes, including Aladdin at the London Palladium with Wayne Sleep, she subsequently established herself as a choreographer and director of acclaim.  Her work includes Popstars, the Man O Man series and Night Fever for national TV. For the last 14 years Di has devised directed and choreographed the Seaside Special in Cromer.

Pantomime Producer, Paul Holman, said, ‘I’m delighted to secure Sid Owen for Lowestoft. As a household name joins the cast, we are looking forward to seeing excellent audience numbers for a great show’.

Book now for an unforgettable adventure through Neverland – the perfect family treat at Christmas!

Tickets start from just £8, with an early bird offer in place until September 2.

To book, call the box office on 01502 533200 or CLICK HERE.