Long live The Queen! Debra Stephenson keen to make a panto impression in Sleeping Beauty at the Wolverhampton Grand

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.”

With it standing as a famously beautiful Victorian theatre, The Grand’s charms have truly captured Debra, as has the passion and spirit of this year’s panto production team.

“I met the people at Wolverhampton Grand through a friend and just loved the way they spoke about the pantomime here and how much they love their audiences,” she said.

“They genuinely want to craft and create a show that is for their audiences that come every year and also to attract more people from the area. 

“But rather than it being a kind of a business-focused project, it’s more about genuinely feeling a regard for the audience and wanting to give them something really special at Christmas that brings a community together. The Grand has got a good reputation nationally because it’s such a beautiful theatre and because the team put so much into making the pantomime fresh.”

As we chat, Debra is in full costume, and is looking forward to showing off her sequins when Sleeping Beauty takes to the stage in a couple of weeks’ time.

“This costume is new,” she says proudly. “It’s all made in house – all the costumes will be new. The script is brand new as well. It's something very new and fresh.”

Also starring Danny Beard (Winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and runner-up of Celebrity Big Brother 2025) with musical stars Solomon Davy and Georgia Iudica-Davies alongside the panto royalty of Tam Ryan and Ian Adams, Wolverhampton Grand’s Sleeping Beauty promises to take us on a journey of magic and mischief.

With the wicked fairy Carabosse placing a familiar snoozy curse on the Princess Beauty and plenty of drama set to ensue, cast and crew are confident that this year’s panto will be something we can only dream of, and all those hoping to attend are encouraged to get their tickets fast.

Debra is particularly excited about the special atmosphere that only comes with working with a live panto crowd, and will be making sure that her queen is one of the belles of the ball.

“I’ve enjoyed working in television over the years but I do mainly live work now,” she said. “I like it more than television to be honest, because even though I like the people that I work with on television there’s no magic like the exchange of energy between and the roar between yourself and the audience. 

“When it’s an interactive show there’s laughter, there’s music, they join in with the songs, and with a pantomime it’s even better because you’ve got kids so you’ve got the spontaneity of the moment where anything could happen. 

“We're going to throw in ad-libs, and all kinds of things can go wrong, but everybody laughs and everybody enjoys it.

“With panto, you’re interacting with each other as a cast, but also with the audience and children that are just so in the moment and wrapped up in the story. They’re shouting out because they love it. They’re so involved – it’s so magical and I just don’t think that it gets any better than that.”

As a child, Debra experienced these magical moments when in theatre crowds, and unsurprisingly they were a huge steer for her chosen career.

“I saw pantomimes with Little and Large, but it was The Wombles that was the first thing I ever remember about theatre and being on the stage,” she said. “I was one of the children that got up and met them on stage and danced with them. 

“There were lots of kids invited from the audience to do that and I got transfixed and lost in the lights and the energy and just loved it. 

“I was four and I’ve never forgotten. I knew from then on that’s where I needed to be.”

Debra’s advice to any youngsters who may be looking up from the crowd at The Grand and want to follow in her footsteps is simple.

“Just follow your heart and follow your joy,” she said. “Whatever it is that makes you feel alive is the thing that you should be doing.”

We’re certain that such magical words will be echoed by an equally magical performance, when Sleeping Beauty opens, and we’re sure we’re not the only ones that can’t wait to be in the stalls.

“This panto is going to be the perfect way to get your Christmas started,” adds Debra. “We can’t wait to see you all there.”​

For more information and to book your tickets, visit www.grandtheatre.co.uk/