insideKENT Magazine Issue 56 - November 2016 | Page 112

Sleeping Beauty at the Stag Theatre
Ricky Norwood, whose Christmas Eve exit
on EastEnders shocked the nation, will join
90’s pop sister act Cleopatra in the Stag
Theatre’s biggest ever panto, Sleeping Beauty!
Ricky Norwood joined the cast of
EastEnders in 2010, and over the
following five years his character,
Fatboy, won the hearts of soap fans
before coming to a tragic end on
Christmas Eve last year. Ricky won
numerous awards for his portrayal of
Fatboy, including Inside Soap Awards’
Funniest Male and Best Newcomer,
and the National Television Awards’
Best Newcomer. His exit from
EastEnders, being crushed to death
in the boot of a car, has caused some
suspicion, as, in the tradition of the
soap world – we never saw the body!
So Fatboy may well be back in Walford
one day, but not before he’s spent
Christmas in Sevenoaks.
Cleopatra lead singer Cleo Higgins,
who is currently starring in the national
tour of West End musical Thriller Live,
will be joined by Zainam and Yonah,
to reform their 90's sister act, as they
play Sleeping Beauty’s three good

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fairies, in pantomime at the Stag
Theatre Sevenoaks. In the 90s,
Cleopatra had a string of top five hits,
as well as their own sitcom, Cleopatra
Comin’ Atcha, on ITV. They supported
the Spice Girls on their sell out Spice
World tour, performed live with
Madonna in the USA, and even sang
for Pope John Paul II, backed by a
100-piece orchestra, at an event that
was broadcast worldwide. Cleopatra
has reformed a handful of times since
then. In 2005 they appeared on ITV’s
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, and
on the TV show Pop Goes The Band
in 2009.
Sleeping Beauty runs at the Stag
Theatre Sevenoaks from 2nd
December – 8th January. For all the
latest panto news follow Sevenoaks
Panto on Facebook and Twitter, and
to book visit
www.sevenoakspanto.com.