Coronation Street actress Casey-Lee Jolleys stars in Cinderella at the Grange Theatre in Hartford

Dec 3 2009 Chester Chronicle

A pair of custom-made tap dance shoes holds precious memories for actress Casey-Lee Jolleys who comes to Cheshire to star in panto this Christmas.

In a career that has spanned more than 25 years – and she is still only 35 – the singer and talented dancer recalls her moments on stage with Roy Castle as one of the highlights.

She was just 12, and at his insistence she danced in shoes identical to his, made by his big-brand sponsor, for a performance alongside him at London’s Dominion Theatre.

“I was chosen to do a tap routine with him because I had won the world championships in tap for the fourth consecutive time,” she explains. “It was such an honour. I’ll never forget it ... and I still have those shoes.”

There have been a lot more performances for North West based Casey since then, including her popular role in Coronation Street as Thai bride/market trader Orchid/Stacey for which she won a Heritage Award for best comedy performance in a soap opera.

She is also known to families everywhere as a children’s presenter on shows such as Channel Five’s Milkshake! and as Jenny in the pre-school programme Beachcomber Bay, where she played alongside a cast of puppets.

“That was really weird at first,” she says. “But after a while I would find myself talking to the puppets rather than to the people working them.”

Casey is also popular whenever there is a need for someone on roller blades, after spending two years honing her skills on skates in Starlight Express.

Throughout her various roles, however, there has been a unifying thread – the annual Christmas pantomime.

She began with the role of Princess Jasmin in Aladdin when she was 19 and, other than when she had her daughter, Halle four years ago, has performed in a panto every year since.

This year she is in Hartford, Northwich, playing Cinderella at The Grange Theatre alongside Prince Charming Marlon Moore, formerly Pharaoh in Joseph.

“I love pantomimes,” she says. “There aren’t many shows where you can take everyone from toddlers to grandparents, where they are encouraged to join in and make a noise – and where they don’t have to sit still and be quiet.

“For many young children going to see a pantomime is their first experience of the theatre.”

The show, which runs from Saturday, December 5, to Sunday, January 3, marks another stage in Casey’s career. It is the first show from Halle Productions, which has been set up by Casey and her husband Michael Hizer with business partners Gary and Helen Aspinall from Manchester-based SceneChange.

On top of her teaching work at the CLJ Academy in Bolton, and the demands of being a mum, Casey says that keeping fit happens by default.”I’d like to say I go to the gym, but I just don’t get time.”

And when the panto season is over? “I’ll be taking a holiday,” says Casey. “Panto is great fun, but incredibly exhausting.”

Tickets for the show can be ordered through www.chesterfestivals.com or by calling 0845 241 7868.