Preparing to appear in 'Dick Whittington & His Cat' at Derby's Assembly Rooms, Paul Nicholas and Linda Robson take time out to share some Christmas secrets ...

Paul became a household favourite with his role as Vince in the award-winning TV series Just Good Friends, although his long and successful theatrical career began with a part in the original production of Hair. Lead roles in Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease followed. Paul created the role of Rum Tum Tugger in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats and the title role in Sir Tim Rice’s musical Blondel. Numerous film and TV roles and four appearances at the Royal Variety Performance have reinforced his popularity and his venture into pop singing back in 1976 resulted in four top ten UK hits. Paul has also starred on Broadway, directed and produced.

Have you anything special planned for your role as King Rat?Oh yes I do! I’ve devised an amazing costume Elvis would have been proud of! It’s a kind of glam rock meets Elvis’ Vegas rhinestone jumpsuit meets Dracula! I’m going to be the best dressed King of pantoland this Christmas. Derbyshire you’d be better look out! King Rat has entered the building!

What do you enjoy most about starring in a pantomime?The excitement, the anticipation and the enjoyment make every day feel like a Christmas Day which lasts for four weeks...it’s a great time.

Have you a favourite pantomime moment?When the children are booing me so loudly it’s like a wall of sound hitting the stage. You know you’ve got the character right when audiences are interacting with you like that.

Any behind-the-scenes anecdotes you can share with us?Well it’s not really behind the scenes but I always remember when I played Buttons in Cinderella in Manchester. Barry Manilow was in the audience, and the rest of the audience had seen him arrive so they knew he was watching the show. I did the song sheet with some children and asked one of them on stage to tell everyone a joke, which went like this:

What time did Barry Manilow arrive at the theatre?About half an hour after his nose! The audience and the cast were just rolling with laughter. It was a very funny moment that I’ve always remembered.

What has been your favourite role to date?I always enjoy each pantomime and the different people I work with but if I have to pick one moment it would be playing Prince Charming in Cinderella at the London Palladium. In those days pantomimes ran and ran so come April you’d be performing with a suntan! From a career point of view playing in pantomime at the Palladium is a career highlight and you’re presented with a special award, a bit like a mini Oscar, at the end of the run.

Will you be doing the cooking at home this Christmas?Absolutely. Not. No, no, no, no! Can’t cook. Won’t cook!

What would be your perfect Christmas?With all my family. If I could be in pantomime nearer to my home that would be the best of two worlds but Derby is only a few hours away so if I get homesick I know I can get home.

And what is your Christmas normally like?A bit like a Christmas with the Waltons as we have all the children and grandchildren round for the day. I make everyone wait until after Christmas dinner, which is normally late in the afternoon, before they can open any of their presents so you can imagine the grandchildren are climbing the walls with excitement by the time we’re round the tree!

What was the best Christmas present you ever received?My son Alex. I left England to work in LA just after my wife found out she was pregnant. I hadn’t seen her throughout the pregnancy and wasn’t able to be at the birth because I had to stay in the States and my visa didn’t allow me to travel back. My wife and newborn son arrived in LA and stayed for Christmas...it was perfect.

Which track do you skip to on the Christmas CD?‘Walking in the Air’ always, but sometimes the ‘Little Drummer Boy’.

Is this your first visit to Derby and Derbyshire?I came up for the day when we launched the pantomime but I’ve not really spent any time in Derby. I’m looking forward to getting out into the Derbyshire Dales on my days off and exploring the scenic countryside the county is so well known for.

What’s in the pipeline work wise after the panto finishes?I’m producing and directing a new musical called ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ which will coincide with the 200th Anniversary of Dickens birth.

If you could have three wishes, what would they be? I love a certain well known brand of milk chocolate so on a purely personal level I would wish chocolate wasn’t fattening! I would wish travel could be instant. A click of your fingers and you’re at your destination. And what kind of person would I be if I didn’t wish for an end to world poverty.

Linda began her show business career at a young age, being a founder member of the Anna Sher Theatre School in Islington. After a large number of TV roles Linda was reunited with her school pal, Pauline Quirke, in Birds of a Feather, which became the highest rated comedy series on BBC TV. The partnership continued with the hugely successful Jobs for the Girls, which challenged them to tackle some unlikely occupations – with typical enthusiasm and humour. This year Linda has made appearances on ITV’s Loose Women, BBC’s The One Show and Casualty and has recently completed a hard-hitting coming-of-age film, Anuvahood. Linda is an active charity worker and has completed fund-raising walks in places as diverse as New York and the rainforest of Brazil. Her busy life includes a husband and three children.

What are you looking forward to most about playing Fairy Bow Bells and have you anything special planned to help you get into the part?Fairy Bow Bells is obviously a cockney so I’m sure I’ll get that part of the character right! I’m really looking forward to appearing with Paul and Mike McClean. I’ve worked with both of them in panto before so it’ll be great to be back together again.

What do you enjoy most about starring in a pantomime?It’s the camaraderie you get with the cast that really makes it; you become like an extended family all working together to remember your lines, your entrances and exits, sharing in the laughter and just generally grafting really hard to make it a good show.

Have you a favourite panto moment?I was in pantomime with Bobby Davro and I was heavily pregnant with my daughter Bobbie (and I didn’t name her after Bobby Davro before anyone says anything!) Bobby kept leaving bowls of hot water and towels in the stage wings, my dressing room, all over the place in case I went into labour. I never knew where they’d appear, they’d just be there!

Any behind-the-scenes anecdotes you can share?I was in Peter Pan at Milton Keynes and we were coming up to the end of the first act, in a scene called Under the Sea which involved a lot of water. On this particular occasion there was a lot more water than there should have been and we completely flooded the stage to such an extent we had to cancel the second act as the crew couldn’t get rid of the water.

What has been your favourite role to date and who have you most enjoyed working with?Well in pantomime I do prefer playing witches to fairies! It’s nice being a fairy but I miss the boos and interaction with children that you get when you’re playing a baddie. As for who I’ve enjoyed working with, I have to say everyone really – you make new friends and become an extended family as I said before, so it would be hard for me to single out any one person. If I really, really have to choose then it would be Paul Nicholas and Mike McClean because I’ve worked with them both before in panto and I know Paul is charming and Mike is a wind-up merchant!

Will you be doing the cooking at home this Christmas?Is the Pope Catholic! Of course I will but the whole family will be involved too.

What would be your perfect Christmas?Well I’m looking forward to Christmas 2012 because that will be my first Christmas as a grandmother and I’m so excited about that. Christmas in New York with all the family would be good too – the magical decorations, the snow, the shops, the entertainment.

And what is your Christmas normally like?It’s like a mad house! After breakfast we all visit the cemetery to spend some time with the family and friends we’ve lost, which sadly gets more and more each year. It’s then back home to start dinner. Mark my husband is usually on Brussels sprout duty, and the children will all have something to do too. We normally eat late afternoon although my kids aren’t huge fans of Christmas dinner. There’ll be a real Christmas tree which the girls will have been pestering to put up from about the end of November!

What was your best Christmas present?It’s the ones the children have made me. They’re really good at making calendars and collages with family photos so they’re very precious.

Which track do you skip to on the Christmas CD?That one that starts ‘It’s Christmas...’

Is this your first visit to Derby and Derbyshire?I was here for the panto launch back in the summer but I also was here in the tour of Grumpy Old Women a few years ago. The countryside is nice in the summer but I’m more of a townie. I’m certainly looking forward to shopping and I understand there’s a Westfield, which will be brilliant. I’m staying in a lovely old Georgian hotel which has a spa so hopefully I’ll get the time to dip in and have a few treatments too.

What’s in the pipeline work wise after the panto finishes?Well, I’m reuniting with Lesley Joseph and Pauline Quirke. We start rehearsals for the national tour of Birds of a Feather, which opens in March and goes on till the middle of July.

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?I wish I could eat anything I wanted and not put on weight. I wish for more grandchildren. And I wish all families everywhere good health and happiness.