Long live The Queen! Debra Stephenson keen to make a panto impression in Sleeping Beauty at the Wolverhampton Grand
From Bad Girls to the cobbles of Corrie, she’s been a part of UK entertainment furniture for decades. And, also famous as being a lady of a thousand voices, she certainly knows how to make an impression.
Now, as the festive season approaches, actor, comedian, impressionist and singer Debra Stephenson is gearing up to treat our region to some good, hearty panto fun.
Opening at the Wolverhampton Grand on November 29 and running until January 4, Sleeping Beauty is set to bring the classic tale to life with an array of talented performers, and, at its heart, a particularly regal and fab-u-lous Debra.
“I’m playing the queen,” said the Spitting Image alumnus as we were lucky enough to chat while preparations for the fun were in full swing.
“Instead of a wicked queen, she’s a strong but lovely queen. She's very maternal – a kind of warrior mother, I would say. She’s a matriarch. But she also enjoys a tipple, which sends her into doing some very funny voices! It’s just like it was made for me, this character, isn’t it?”
No stranger to panto, Debra has been treading the festive boards since she was a teenager, having starred in umpteen productions of countless classic favourites from Aladdin to Peter Pan.
“At this point in my life I’m now really in my ‘third incarnation’ of pantomimes,” she said. “I did pantos playing principal girl characters like Cinderella when I was sort of 17, 18, and 19.
“Then I went to drama school and I didn't do any for ages, but then, after Coronation Street I got asked to do pantomimes again and I played principal boys like Dick Whittington, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin and Peter Pan.
“I then wanted to put it all on hold for a while because it wasn’t great going away at Christmas when the kids were so young. But now they’re a little bit older and this has just come at the right time.”