THE tights and wigs have been hung up for another year, as the panto Aladdin recently finished its seasonal turn at the Lighthouse in Poole.

It rounded off the Lighthouse’s 10th anniversary year in style with an audience increase of nearly 10 per cent from last year.

The venue already has significant bookings coming in for next year’s show, the title of which is due to be announced soon. This year’s production which starred Poole-based X Factor and Dancing On Ice star Ray Quinn and Crackerjack legend Don Maclean, was the venue’s third homegrown panto.

It follows in the footsteps of Peter Pan and Cinderella and this year even saw some celebrity faces in the stalls. Paul Tucker, Lighthouse communications officer says: “The reaction to Aladdin has been phenomenal, with audiences giving us really positive feedback and we’ve been particularly overwhelmed with the response on Facebook and Twitter.

“We’ve had people travelling from all over the country to see the show, including England cricketing legend Freddie Flintoff, which was brilliant.”

He added: “Panto is still the perfect way to end the year and celebrate the festive season and it’s also the chance for families and members of the local community to come together and have some fun, with Lighthouse becoming a very important focal point for the town outside its summer tourism season.”

Ray Quinn will be returning to the venue from April 15-20 with The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice.

He is set to star alongside Beverley Callard (Coronation Street) and Jess Robinson in a sparkling new production of Jim Cartwright’s play.

It was first made famous by the 1998 film starring Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine.

Tickets are on sale now.