POOLE’S panto had the best principal boy in the country – oh yes it did – in the shape of local favourite Chris Jarvis.

The CBeebies star, who co-wrote, directed and played the title role in Dick Whittington at the town’s Lighthouse, took the title at the Great British Panto Awards.

The awards were presented by Christopher Biggins at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Chris told the Daily Echo: “We’re really proud of our little show. It’s a team sport. I don’t consider it my award, I consider it our award.”

He dedicated the prize to “all the panto widows and widowers who don’t see very much of us at Christmas while we go off and have fun”.

Last Christmas was especially difficult as Chris’s father in Surrey is ill with dementia. “I had to take a month and a half away from my mum and dad. My dad is not well. My brother took a month and a half off work,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it weren’t for him.”

Traditionally, panto principal boys have been women – but Chris said conventions were changing, with women increasingly taking roles that had been played by men, such as the Ugly Sisters.

“It was three guys I was up against and one girl,” he said.

His father’s illness has prompted Chris to move away from Bournemouth, where he had lived in recent years. “I miss Bournemouth like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.

“Coming down the Wessex Way and seeing the sign saying ‘Welcome to Bournemouth’, you can just feel the tension level coming down. I couldn’t never understand when people say ‘I wish I could go and work in London’. Why on earth would you ever want to choose London?”

He said he missed the town less when he was immersed in work, but missed it more when he had a chance to visit.

“That beautiful Easter we had, all I could think was ‘I could be on the beach in Bournemouth now’,” he said.

“I love the town and I think areas like Southbourne are gorgeous.”

Dick Whittington was also nominated as Pantomime of the Year for venues under 750 seats, losing to Snow White in Stevenage.

Lighthouse chief executive Elspeth McBain said: “Creating a pantomime from scratch each year is a complex process and everybody connected with Dick Whittington was absolutely thrilled to see Chris win the award. It’s impossible to imagine a worthier or lovelier winner.”

Lighthouse co-produced Dick Whittington in partnership with Duncan Reeves Productions, the company headed by actor and TV presenter Peter Duncan and musical director Darren Reeves.

“Not only was Chris a brilliant principal boy, but he delivered a sparkling script and directed a panto that our family audiences absolutely loved. He was such a joy to work with and he and the whole panto company made Christmas at Lighthouse really special for everyone.”

Chris will be in panto in Swindon this year, while Poole has announced its show, Jack and the Beanstalk, will open on December 12.