Wolverhampton Grand at 125: Panto stars inspire slimmers
Panto stars helped to take the strain when it came to promoting a life-saving campaign during the run up to Christmas in 1988.
The stars of that year's festive show at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre turned out to publicise a mass slim-in in the town.
And we can be fairly certain that one of their number, the well-padded Geoffrey Hughes, was the butt of some good-humoured banter that day.
The actor, who played much-loved binman Eddie Yeats in TV's Coronation Street for nearly 10 years and later became known for his roles as Ounslow in Keeping Up Appearances and Twiggy in The Royle Family, tipped the scales at nearly 18 stone.
The group, which also included comedian Roy Hudd and actor Maurice Colbourne, were in Wolverhampton for the Christmas season appearing in the Grand's panto Babes In The Wood.
Joining them was the show's flying fairy, the aptly named Debbie Flitcroft, who duly perched on Roy's knee for the jolly publicity shot.
The sponsored slim was being staged to help pay for a new mobile heart disease prevention unit for Wolverhampton.
The weigh-in for the event was to be held, optimistically perhaps, on January 8 – less than two weeks after Christmas.
The image is reproduced here as the Express & Star joins with the Grand to mark the theatre’s milestone 125th anniversary later this year.
* If you have memories or pictures, email 125@grandtheatre.co.uk or write to 125 Memories Project, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, WV1 1DE.
