ad

Former Blue Peter presenter in Wrexham panto row

Published date: 07 April 2010 |
Published by: Claire Gallagher

 

PLANS by one of Wrexham’s most famous faces to bring a pantomime to the town have landed him in hot water with a rival panto group.

Tim Vincent is to stage and star in Aladdin at the William Aston Hall in December and January.

Wrexham and District Pantomime Company, which has been in operation since 1906, were set to put on the same panto in February half-term.

Now the existing group say they have been upstaged and forced to change their plans.

Member Lisa Jones-Tattum said: “The Wrexham and District Pantomime Company (formerly Walter Roberts Pantomime Company) is a steadfast tradition in Wrexham and it would be a shame if the production planned by Tim brings this to an end.

“As a well-known professional, we are proud that Tim’s roots are in Wrexham, so should he not be helping us hang on to the few traditions we have left, rather than put a nail in the coffin of our own show?

“While Tim is pushing for city status and feels that bringing his pantomime here will support this, it will be at the cost of one of Wrexham’s longest running traditions.”

Her father Frank Jones, who has himself taken part in 36 pantomimes, said: “If Tim did Aladdin at Christmas I can’t imagine that we will do it again in February.

“We give all our profits away to local charities including Nightingale House.”

The Pantomime ward at the Maelor hospital is named after the company.

Pantomime Dame Mark Salisbury said the group had already started to write the script for Aladdin.

He said: “I’m a little bit upset because Tim says Wrexham needs a professional pantomime and even though we are amateurs we put on a professional show.”

Frank, from Rhos, added: “It costs about £8,000 to run the panto and we work hard towards it each year.

“We don’t like to encroach on other theatre groups in the area such as The Little Theatre or Tip Top Productions.

“We can’t stop Tim bringing it to Wrexham, it’s just knocked us back.”

Frank said the company would decide what production to put on instead at their annual general meeting in May.

Lisa added: “I am sure he (Tim) would not like to see the end of a pantomime era, where many a young and old wannabe singer, actor and dancer have had the opportunity to tread the boards.”

When the Leader spoke to Tim yesterday, he said: “We wish everybody good luck. We looked around to check we wouldn’t be a rival with others.

“We run between December 15 and January 2, 2011, so there should not be a clash here.”

Tim added that he ‘absolutely’ supported any other pantomimes in the area as he knew how important they were for the town.

He added: “We hope everyone comes along watch.”

You must be a registered user to leave a comment. Register or login here.

  1. Posted by: taffie5 at 09:16 on 07 April 2010 Report

    i dont really see why the other group still cant do aladdin in febuary?? surely they have aloyal fan base who come back year after year? iv no idea who tim vincent is to be honest but he sounds like he is out to promote himself not wrexham. i will be going to the grove theatre in town to see their production not to william aston to boost some b listers ego

  2. Posted by: a cahill at 10:12 on 07 April 2010 Report

    taffie5......dead right about the panto at the Grove....I have gone to it for seven out of the last ten years.... and have really enjoyed the production.... as for tiptop productions their recent show Hold tight it sixties night was one of the most professioal and hilarious shows I have ever been to..these people work hard all year round in the locality only to be upstaged by Blisters on the make

  3. Posted by: Merl1 at 13:28 on 07 April 2010 Report

    Thanks for your support.Tim Vincent's comment about Panto in Wrexham is uninformed. Grove Park has produced pantomimes for 29 years.His comment "We looked around to check that we would not be a rival with others" is puzzling as Grove Park's production of Cinderella runs at the same time as his.We understand the feelings of Wrexham Pantomime Company and know how difficult it will be for them to change their arrangements.Terry Marland - Grove Park Theatre

  4. Posted by: wrexham-gal at 18:37 on 07 April 2010 Report

    Tim Vincent....who ar ya?

  5. Posted by: **owl** at 19:39 on 07 April 2010 Report

    Typical comments once again from the small minded and thankfully minority people of Wrexham. Having lived here all my life I can honestly say I have never heard of "The Wrexham & District Pantomime Co" and am delighted that Tim Vincent who is a local boy "done good", would want to come back to his home town and put on such a prestigious event.

  6. Posted by: a cahill at 21:42 on 07 April 2010 Report

    **owl**... from one of the small minded people to one of the narrow minded residents.. thats you owl...the local theatre groups put a lot of time and effort into providing entertainment in Wrexham and any profits go back into the local economy... How much of local boy done good profits will stay in the locality... also seems strange that he seeks publicity by suppoting the drive for City status

  7. Posted by: taffie5 at 08:20 on 08 April 2010 Report

    owl - im not small minded - your obviously not very cultured if you have never heard of the wrexham and district pantomime company. theres several pantomimes on every year in wrexham so you either walk round with your eyes and ears shut or your one of the saddos who is impressed by somebody who has had a bit of celeb status. :-)

  8. Posted by: Tara Rhostyllen at 17:35 on 08 April 2010 Report

    Tim Vincent s real name ( If I remember correctly from years ago ) was Tim Walker and he lived in Marchwiel.

  9. Posted by: **owl** at 22:31 on 08 April 2010 Report

    a cahill - How exactly is being supportive of a new venture being narrow minded? Also how do you know that he doesn't plan to put anything back in to the community and that he hasn't supported the drive for city status before this?

  10. Posted by: D Whittington at 22:55 on 08 April 2010 Report

    Surely any one who wishes to promote Wrexham in a positive way should be supported, regardless of who they are. Negative comments towards Mr, Vincent serve no purpose whatsoever. As I see it the production of a professional pantomime in Wrexham at Christmas time should be welcomed for the enjoyment it will bring to families from within and around the town.

  11. Posted by: **owl** at 23:12 on 08 April 2010 Report

    taffie5 - The difference between you and I is that now I know of the W & D Panto Co I will make every effort to support their event & Tim Vincents. As a proud Wrexham resident I choose to support all aspects of the town. Perhaps I will become cultured & less of a saddo in the process :)

  12. Posted by: yachydda at 03:09 on 09 April 2010 Report

    Wow... some harsh words on here... Tim Vincent... local boy done good... well he has so good for him.... and his panto... and any other panto... but City status?.... no thanks Wrexham needs a new vibrant council first... not the numpties that are running it into the ground now

  13. Posted by: a cahill at 07:41 on 09 April 2010 Report

    owl... narrow minded.... you do not know about.... so therefore you dimiss out of hand....and how do you know he will put anything back into the community.... my point is that local theatre groups nuture local talent 24-7 and 52 weeks of the year and will lose earnings because of this Panto....just take a look at the free publicity accorded to him.. if he was that much into the community then he could offer to guest at one of their productions rather than take earnings away from them

  14. Posted by: Roland Cleth at 11:41 on 09 April 2010 Report

    Err.....why does the WDPC have to do the same panto? Can't they do another one?

  15. Posted by: jack bean at 11:56 on 09 April 2010 Report

    I think the Wrexham panto company are seeking cheap publicity, they said they were putting on the same production as Mr Vincent Aladdin, how do they explain the flyer I received in a package from Nightingale House a month ago saying they were putting on Jack in the Bean stork?

  16. Posted by: dionysus at 14:40 on 09 April 2010 Report

    Jack Bean if you read the information Wrexham and District Pantomime Company put on a production of Jack and the Beanstalk February half term 2010 the planning of a show is done a year in advance so the the scripts can be written I belive WDPC ar changing their production for their next pantomime

  17. Posted by: a cahill at 16:37 on 09 April 2010 Report

    Roland... reason for not changing the production..... Theatretrain Wrexham school are taking part in the World Children's Ensemble at the Royal Albert Hall in Sept.. the parents and children were told last Dec and since then the planning for the show has been going on for both parents and school...This weekend the learning and rehearsal begins for the Children.. as you can see a lot of time is taken to produce shows and a lot of behind the scenes work is put into the end result

  18. Posted by: Cinders at 20:20 on 09 April 2010 Report

    I was unaware that you had to have heard of WD Panto Co to be cultured. Why do all of you people feel the need to knock anyone who has achieved more than you? Thank goodness he wants to put a panto on in wrexham not Chester otherwise you would be slagging him off for being a snob and neglecting his home town. Well done Tim you go for it boy.

  19. Posted by: swhite at 17:57 on 11 April 2010 Report

    Well, after reading all your comments, have to say I agree with Owl and Cinder.. ..for all the other comments it sounds like jealousy and whats wrong with having 2 pantos?...I have a feeling alot of you with negative comments about this are from small communitites and dont like change , I myself am from wrexham and think its great what Tim is doing and for the fact he is putting Wrexham more on the map, I suggest you look at the bigger picture and step outside your bubble.

  20. Posted by: a cahill at 20:03 on 11 April 2010 Report

    swhite..... please explain how showing support for your community is being negative..... Wrexham is a good place to live and for a community to thrive and prosper it needs to nuture its local talent and not sell out to any and all comers... its sad when the so called celeb culture takes predence over the local residents

  21. Posted by: Cinders at 12:04 on 12 April 2010 Report

    a Cahill - No one is knocking Wrexham as a good place to live and surely Tim Vincent is local talent unless ofcourse you don't count Overton as local. Also the majority of schools attend panto in Theatre Clwyd, Liverpool and Manchester whats wrong with bringing them into Wrexham instead? As W&D panto only run for four days they could not possibly accomodate all of the schools.

  22. Posted by: dionysus at 12:52 on 12 April 2010 Report

    Cinders Wrexham and District pantomime company puts on 7 shows over February half Term every year

  23. Posted by: bold_stuart at 00:56 on 22 April 2010 Report

    obviously certain people dont follow local amatuer dramatics company's as wrexham district panto co put on jack and the beanstalk in feb 2010 or you postmans still on strike and as a 21 year old who is a member of both wxm dist panto co and grove park and a number of other amatuer dramatics society i thrive at the fact that Tim Vincents panto might just give a few more budding stars from wrexham their big break to seen as though local auditons are going to be held.

  24. Posted by: bold_stuart at 00:58 on 22 April 2010 Report

    so why dont the people who are writing these messages stop thinking about themselves and think about others for a change which i know is hard for people in wrexham. surely all show must go on no matter how big the audiences and whats to say the public wont go and see both desired pantos anyway.

 

Related Stories



Featured Businesses

View all adverts

Resources