World's biggest pantomime: Strictly's Vincent and Flavia, Mel B, Rylan and Rusty Goffe speak ahead of Birmingham's Snow White

He's standing outside the Barclaycard Arena, puffing away on a ciggie.

Vincent Simone, the professional Italian dancer who found fame during a six-year Strictly Come Dancing run, looks decidedly dapper.

He's dressed in a skinny black suit with white piping and looks every inch the man about town. Lean and toned, he cuts an impressive figure.

His dancing partner, Flavia Cacace, is elegance itself.

On a scale of one to 10, she is somewhere beyond beautiful. Dressed in a figure-hugging gold dress, her eyes burn like pyres and her smile is brighter than a potassium flame. She embodies elegance.

Vincent and Flavia are at the Barclaycard Arena to talk about their forthcoming gig in Snow White, aka The World's Biggest Pantomime.

The panto will be 'super-sized' for its arena presentation.

Featuring a cast of 100 performers in front of a 45ft tall castle, the production promises to lift panto to new levels.

Stunning effects, including 50ft giant water fountains, a blizzard snowstorm that engulfs the audience, a 35-piece marching band, lasers, megaflatable carnival parade and a stunning illuminated, enchanted forest are all part of the mystical thrill.

The 5,000 capacity audience will be part of a fantastic arena atmosphere, with a giant screen for close-ups of all the action.

The story will be central to the production and it will be told on an epic scale by a mega star cast, headlined by Spice Girl Mel B as the Scary Queen. Mel can't wait: "I love panto and always take my kids, but I want to change the slightly cheesy image people have of the genre and present something on a spectacular scale while still retaining the traditional values. I'm also very excited to have my daughters Angel and Madison play versions of mini-me in the mirror."

The man leading the laughter was due to be Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness, though on Thursday he decided 'oh no he couldn't' and announced his withdrawal from the show.

Big Brother and This Morning star Rylan Clark-Neal will play Mel B's henchman. It's a dream role for the avowed fan of girl groups. "I'm Mel B's henchman. I'm her funny bit on the side. I'm going to be pretty much me – biggest Spice Girl fan loving life."

The best things come in small packages. At least that's the mantra that's kept the world's number one dwarf star, Rusty Goffe, on the straight and narrow for more than 50 years.

While Mel B, Vincent and Flavia might be the most instantly recognisable names in this year's Biggest Pantomime Ever, only Mel B has notched up the sort of achievements that can equal those of Rusty, who will also appear.

The personable 4' 2" star has featured in some of the most successful and most fondly remembered movies of the past 50 years. He has starred in some of the best TV ever made. And he has earned a little loose change by appearing in commercials advertising everything from Lyons Maid Ice Cream, Gingsters Meat Pies and Heroquest Board Games to Hygena Furniture and Red Dog Hot Dogs. Oh yes he has.

Rusty is happily retired, having rubbed shoulders with the biggest names in showbusiness. But he's back for a swan song in Snow White.

"I got the call and it fits in. I'd decided to take a break from it because I've been working for 50 years. But it was too good to resist. It's a short engagement and it's something different. I still love the roar of the crowd, so I'm looking forward to it."

Rusty has seen it all and done it all in a remarkable career. He made his breakthrough in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where he played an Oompa Loompa. Within a few years, he was appearing in Star Wars, playing a Jawa.

Other big movies followed, including Flash Gordon and Willow. More recently, he's been a regular in the Harry Potter movies, appearing in The Philosopher's Stone, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

"There's been a lot of work," he says. "It's funny, I've appeared in some really, really big movies in my time. I'm just grateful that I've had the opportunity to do work that I've enjoyed.

"Movies like Willy Wonka, Star Wars and the Harry Potter films are ones that everyone knows and everyone loves. I'm grateful that I've had the career I've had.

"Doing things like pantomime now are a bonus."

Rusty's showbusiness CV is truly remarkable. He started out in theatre, appearing in everything from seaside shows to the London Palladium. He then ventured into TV, featuring in The Goodies, Are You Being Served?, 'Allo 'Allo!, The League of Gentlemen and Dr Who, while also taking a bow on the silver screen.

These days, he leads a quieter life with his wife, Sarah, cat Tiggles and Daisy their Cockerpoo (don't worry, it's a breed of dog).

He's heard it all during his years on stage, with people using different language to describe his unique characteristics.

"Some people will talk to my wife saying 'how is he today?' or 'does he like sugar with his tea?'. I don't find people at all phobic. I make light of things to put them at their ease.

"I'm happy to refer to myself as a dwarf. That's what I am – dwarfism is a form of achondroplasia. I've had 'vertically challenged', but the best was 'superior depth' – I thought that was hysterical."

Most of all, he loves performing and thinks panto is great. "Panto is the first time children will ever be introduced to a theatre. So you have to make it a really enjoyable show so they want to visit the theatre again."

Vincent and Flavia, meanwhile, will be waltzing their way to the stage as the enchanted spirits of the mirror.

The dancing couple have become one of the country's most successful Argentine Tango acts. Having competing successfully together for 21 years, they gained a strong following after joining BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. More recently, they have wowed their audiences with three shows of their own, Midnight Tango, Dance 'til Dawn, and The Last Tango.

Now they are looking forward to hot stepping their way across the stage. Vincent says: "We can't wait. Flav and I have been doing almost the same thing for years now. We dance all the time. It's been Strictly, then being on tour, then Strictly, then being on tour. So we love a challenge. We love the novelty of doing something new.

"We've been asked in the past to do pantomime but we've always been so busy. But this time it's the biggest in the world and we had to say yes. So we're really happy and proud to be part of this amazing opportunity."

Flavia goes on to add: "We've been touring for five years, so we've pretty much visited every theatre that there is. You get used to the intimacy of a small theatre and of small venues and our show really suits that environment. But we just walked into the Barclaycard Arena earlier and it's amazing. The buzz that will be in there when we take to the stage will be amazing: it's impossible to describe that."

The couple are used to big venues, of course, having featured on the Strictly Live tour for two years. They enjoyed the roar of the crowd. Vincent says: "Funnily enough, Flavia won it one year and I won it the other year. We got used to the arenas. But there's been such a big gap between then and now and we'd almost forgotten. When you do arena after arena you just get used to it. But now, after so long, it all seems so big again."

Flavia adds: "This is going to be so enormous. And there's going to be so much interaction with the audience. It will be quite a spectacle."

Vincent and Flavia may well be seasoned performers but one thing they don't normally do is learn lines. Their stage shows feature them dancing in theatres around the UK, their Strictly performances were choreographed but never scripted.

"This is one of the challenges," says Vincent. "For the first time, we have to learn our lines. We'd done TV and Strictly and done the interviews, but in all of our shows we have been acting through the motion of dance. So this is the very first time that we've got a script. We don't know how to do that, so if you've got any tips tell us.

"Our shows in the theatres are usually like a musical. You do the story from beginning to end with music and acting and singing and all of that. But we never open our mouths, we never speak. Normally, we can tell jokes but without talking – it's through the dance. So this is a new challenge and we will embrace it."

"It's the first time people will hear us talk," Flavia adds. "The dancing is easy compared to that. Once we've choreographed and rehearsed, we'll be great. We'll have ticked that box. The real challenge for us is learning the script and delivering it.

"On theatre, it's very story-orientated. It's linked to having the right song at the right time."

While Mel B, Rylan Clark-Neal and the rest of the team will be busy rehearsing together, Vincent and Flavia plan to do their own thing. They will be able to learn their routines away from the madding crowd, going through steps that fit in with the production and suit the music.

Vincent says: "We'll do our thing. We'll go away and do the choreography. Then eventually we'll join up with the cast and it will all come together. At that point, it will start to become real."

Vincent and Flavia left Strictly in 2013, six months after Flavia had won the series with Louis Smith. The couple were victorious after securing top marks for a Showdance to Rule the World and achieving 39 for a salsa to (I've Had) The Time Of My Life. Their final dance, a Charleston to Dr Wanna Do, also secured a 39 along with the Glitterball Trophy.

Vincent had less propitious partners. Stephanie Beacham, Felicity Kendal and Edwina Currie were never going to give him the chance to win, though Rachel Stevens secured him a second place finish. He then went on to feature on I'm A Celebrity. . .Get Me Out of Here!

Strictly remains hugely important to both of them. For one, it gave them the opportunity to make the transition to being regulars on the live stage with sell-out tours and, of course, the chance to shine in The World's Biggest Panto.

Flavia says: "We love performing live. I think that now we've done live theatre, it's impossible to beat having a real audience there with you. The energy they create feeds you. We're so used to performing on a theatre stage that we have got very accustomed to that feeling. But when we walk on there, in the arena, it'll be a totally different game. We'll be feeling anxiety, which we'll turn into positive energy. It's going to be exciting."

Vincent concurs: "Yeah, you know how much people liked Strictly. The arenas were full almost every time we played them. We were playing to audiences of 10,000 people. You can't beat that crowd. Normally, every time we're on the road we get 1,200 or 1,500 people. That's everywhere we go for eight shows a week for 35 weeks.

"Here it's good because there are other stars, which takes the pressure off us. There's Mel B and other people that the audience wants to come and see. It's nice to be part of a group, rather than just being in the Vincent and Flavia show. Through the 20 years that we've been dancing together, there's never been a show that we've not been nervous about. That comes with it. But it's good nerves."

Flavia says: "In a small theatre, it's all about intimacy. People feel like they're living it because they're so close to you. You can actually keep things quite small. Here, everything has to be bigger.

Vincent and Flavia have an impressive résumé. Their professional titles include: UK Professional Ten Dance champions 2002-2006; UK Professional Showdance champions 2003-2006; UK Argentine Tango champions 2006 (first time the competition had ever been held); World Argentine Tango Show champions 2005/2006; UK Ballroom champions for several years; World and European Ten Dance and Show Dance finalists 2002-2006.

In 2006 they made the move away from competitions into recurring roles on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing from the fourth series onwards. In 2008 and 2009, Vincent and Flavia took part in the Strictly Come Dancing live tour and, at the beginning of 2010 they took part in Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals UK tour.

The duo have also launched three DVDs teaching the Argentine tango, as well as a series of apps for the iPhone, which teaches both ballroom and Latin.

With all this performing, the dancers have to take care of themselves to avoid injury. Though they are described as entertainers, they are also professional athletes who have to stay on top of their physical condition.

Vincent says: "We have to rest. We rest throughout the day. We also have a day off when we're on tour and we make sure we get a week off in every five. You need it, even for your brain. But you get used to it. You learn what it's like to be in pain."

Pain will be the furthest thing from their minds when they line-up at Birmingham this Christmas. They'll be rested, fresh and ready to (Strictly) come dancing.

The Big Panto is on at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Monday, December 19, 7.30pm; Tuesday and Wednesday, December 20 and 21, 3pm and 7pm and Thursday, December 22 at 11am. Tickets cost from £27.80, visit barclaycardarena.co.uk

Andy Richardson