HAVING grown up watching Scooby-Doo, it was a surreal experience to be sat with my own two children watching my favourite four legged cartoon character come to life on stage.

I was worried in case the director Jim Millan might have “meddled” with the tried and tested formula of the TV show.

But apart from an incongruous Strictly-style dance off at the start, it didn’t really deviate from the usual format.

It was action-packed, colourful, well-choreographed and delivered everything you would expect to get from a musical stage adaptation of the classic children’s series.

All the leads – Jamie Wilson as the square-jawed ‘I have a plan’ Fred, Selina Macdonald as the foxy Daphne (who was the highlight for my husband) the brilliant Laura Sicurello as nerdy Velma, Matthew Bloxham as the lily-livered Shaggy and not forgetting Jamie Brown as Scooby, have obviously worked hard to look and sound as similar to their cartoon counterparts as possible.

At times the production felt more like a pantomime with its audience participation and slapstick comedy routines.

It’s really aimed at younger children – my son, who is seven, still enjoyed it and roared on cue at the pirate ghosts.

My daughter, who is nearly ten, thought it was really good, but was probably even better for “littler” people.

Speaking on behalf of bigger people like myself though, I felt it was well-produced and managed to appeal to parents who grew up watching the show and their kids who have discovered Scooby-Doo for the first time.