Full of smut and spectacle. Possibly the first pantomime in history where Maid Marian has unwittingly been used as a ‘beard’ for an overtly homosexual Robin Hood.

When Julian Clary motioned to his right and announced ‘Ladies and Gentleman, Sir Ian McKellen…’, I was expecting one of the ensemble to emerge from the wings in a full wizard outfit with staff. Instead, lo and behold, was the REAL Sir Ian.

Some of the cast on stage looked suitably starstruck too, grinning much more convincingly than their earlier “Oops somebody’s corpsed …” moments which I bet have happened deliberately during every performance of the run. Clearly this was special…

And it seems it was. I did a little scouting on my social media, and audiences have reported having a whole host of famous faces as a surprise in the second half: from Gyles Brandreth and David Walliams, to Paul Merton and Jason Donovan.

It was fabulous to see Sir Ian looking so well as the king, after his momentous fall in ‘Player Kings’ earlier this year. I felt like I had hit the jackpot booking this particular performance, as the specific jokes to Nigel Havers employing him to ‘watch and learn’ before doing his ‘bit of acting’ (ordering Marisha Wallace to be locked in a cage) would not have hit with the same grandiosity otherwise.

Entertainment ★★★★☆

Although formulaic at times now: the dressing down of the overzealous stage-school ensemble; Paul Zerdin’s silly voice for the stooge child volunteer on-stage; and frequent references to the lack of plot, mostly, there is a comforting reassurance in the Palladium Panto’s recipe. The 3D elements were a welcome addition this year to the spectacle, but with he increased use of pre-recorded elements, we found ourselves wanting more elements from the live cast.

Star Power ★★★★☆

Julian Clary & Nigel Havers please as always. Unfortunately, since Gary Wilmot has retired from panto, there is a dame-shaped hole missing from the cast list that is yet to be filled. Jane McDonald offered an unexpected quality to proceedings with her rendition of ‘You’re My World’ which she sang just as well as Cilla Black, and Robert Madge is cementing himself as an old hand with his dependable razzamatazz !

Value ★★★★☆

You never feel short-changed with the palladium pantos. Despite tickets being around the £200-mark this year, where else would you get Nigel Havers being flown to the roof…or a surprise appearance from a well-loved legend such as Sir Ian McKellen? The production quality is always first rate, but perhaps relied a little too much on screens this time (one of which failed as clary was about to target 3 gruff bearded men in the front row, using the audience camera).