IT’S the most wonderful time of the year – unless you’re a disgraced panto star.
Some of Britain’s most famous faces have turned into off-stage villains with behaviour that would leave even the most Wicked Queen blushing.
From accusations of racism to porn revelations and one actress who sniffed ‘snow’ behind the scenes, the UK’s panto scene is sometimes far from family-friendly.
One actor who played Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk even swore in front of hundreds of kids when asked to switch on a town’s Christmas lights.
Here we look at some of the most scandalous and controversial moments that’ll make you go, “Oh no you didn’t…”
Shameless actress Tina Malone was sacked from playing an evil fairy godmother after admitting possessing cocaine.
Cops in Cumbria were tipped off that the Sleeping Beauty star was taking the drug after she allegedly confronted parents with powder on her nose and said it was “showbiz snow”.
She was given a caution after being escorted out of the Cloud Nine Theatre in Barrow-in-Furness by uniformed officers.
Sources said the 2017 arrest followed weeks of tension on set as Tina made no secret of her cocaine use and called it her “little bag of snow”.
Tina was also accused of hogging the toilets, leaving little kids starring in the show desperate for the loo.
A source said: “She was an absolute nightmare. There was only one working toilet backstage and she would sit in it for hours saying she was smoking.
“If you tried to go in she would scream and shout at you, even the kids were sworn at.”
Tina later posted on Facebook: “Thank you to all those who supported me thru this horrific time, my mother is ill becoz of the shock, I have not had my last payment so those that vilify me, hate me fill your boots.
“I’m distraught, devastated, my life is ruined, the repercussions are unbelievable, have I ever drunk, taken drugs etc yes, yes, yes, am I proud no [sic].”
Actor and comedian Rufus Hound was left devastated after being accused of ‘yellow face’ racism.
A poster advertising his role as evil magician Abanazar in Aladdin showed him wearing heavy eyeliner – prompting outrage from some members of the public.
The 42-year-old comedian was accused of having ‘racist make-up’ by Twitter users, with one writing: “Panto season is basically a nationwide anti-Asian public humiliation campaign.”
Rufus later said he was reduced to tears by the accusations over his role at Peterborough’s New Theatre in 2021.
He said he had added the liner to make himself “look as menacing as possible”, adding: “At no point did I think it was yellow face or anything near… seeing it now, I get it.”
He added: “I was sat here, having a cry and not knowing what to do about it. Being turned on by your own tribe f*****g hurts. To have people whose voices I listen to and amplify assume the worst of me absolutely kills my soul.”
Boyband singer Lee Ryan pulled the ultimate magical act – by vanishing mid-show.
He was playing the titular role in Aladdin in 2018 in London when he pulled out half way through a performance, claiming he had a chest infection.
Lee was then rumoured to have been spotted in a local Wetherspoons shortly after.
The Blue singer, 40, was said to be a regular at the theatre’s pub during the panto, which featured Paul Merton as Widow Twankey.
A source told The Sun at the time: “Lee is really struggling with his singing. Paul Merton ad-libbed a joke about Blue and you could tell Lee got prickly.”
Lee later said the panto gig wrecked his future on EastEnders.
He joined the soap as Woody Woodward in 2017 but said bosses were “evasive” about renewing his contract, so he took the role in Aladdin.
He said: “Frustratingly by the time they said yes, I’d signed up for a panto and couldn’t break that contract.
“That was a real shame. I was meant to marry Whitney, but they downgraded my story.”
He was cast as Prince Charming in a panto, but singer Craig Chalmers was hiding a seedy past.
The talented musical star shot to fame on the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, which searched for a new lead to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
He was due to play Prince Charming in Cinderella in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 2012 but was axed after bosses were tipped off he had starred in X-rated movies.
In a porn film, in which he used the name Ryan Ryder, Craig could be seen taking part in sex acts and, at the time, his profile and picture were also included on an adult talent agency website.
Bosses at the Alhambra Theatre said they had no idea about his past.
Craig has also previously performed with an all-male strip group called G-Force and had a short-lived career with a boyband called No Reason.
Former Hollyoaks actor Paul ‘Dangerous’ Danan was given the heave-ho from Jack and the Beanstalk after launching a foul-mouthed tirade in front of kids.
He was starring as Jack in Preston in 2007 when he was given the honour of switching on the town’s festive lights.
But he blew it by swearing at the crowd, which included hundreds of children, urging them to “make some f*****g noise!”
Police slapped him with an £80 on-the-spot fine shortly after the incident, and the next morning he was relieved of his role by the panto’s producers.
He later sheepishly admitted the offence to housemates on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, saying drinking wine and listening to Eminem before he went on stage was to blame for his “slip of the tongue”.
He said: “It was in the evening and I’d just been watching the Up In Smoke videos quite a lot with Dr Dre and Eminem, and stuff like that.
“I had a couple of glasses of wine and went on stage. The presenter said, ‘Paul, can you take that half of the crowd and we’ll take this half of the crowd and get them to make as much noise as possible?’
“It was a slip of the tongue. I got a bit excited and said, ‘Make some motherf*****g noise’.”
