PANTO favourites are to return to the stage this Christmas for one of the region’s biggest annual shows.

The Gala Theatre in Durham is to present Aladdin, which will see a return of panto regulars Neil Armstrong and Paul Hartley.

Resident baddie Neil Armstrong will take on the role of evil Abanazar, while Paul Hartley plays daft laundry lad Wishee Washee in the show, which runs from Thursday, November 27 to Saturday, January 3.

Joining them on stage will be Chris Connell, fresh from a role in The Pitmen Painters, who takes on the challenge of playing Widow Twankey.

Viktoria Kay and Robert Hudson return to Gala after appearances in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Durham to play PC Ping Pong and the Emperor respectively.

The Gala’s annual panto is always a big draw for family audiences, with more than 28,000 tickets sold for last year’s production of Robin Hood and The Babes in the Wood.

Robin Byers, the Gala’s programming and operations manager, said: “Aladdin promises to be a wild carpet ride of a show and I’m sure it will be even bigger and better than ever.

“The support for last year’s show was incredible and we can’t wait to show audiences what we’ve got in store this festive season.”

Tickets, priced from £8.50 to £16.50, are available from The Gala box office on 03000 266 600 or www.galadurham.co.uk