Christopher Biggins back in Panto action at Darlington theatre he made his dame debut

Acting legend Christopher Biggins has returned to the Darlington theatre he made his pantomime debut 46 years ago.

He is playing Mrs Smee in Peter Pan at the Darlington Hippodrome, where he first played a dame in 1976.

Five decades ago, his first panto was starring in Mother Goose in Darlington - and now he's back in the theatre where it all started.

Biggins, as he is affectionately known, told ITV News Tyne Tees: "I kept turning it down because I said no, I am an actor. I don't do pantomimes.

"I did it and loved it. And I was hooked then."

In 2007, he was named King of the Jungle in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, one of the only years he missed out on being a dame.

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