Take me to Pantoland

There's a point, when you're an adult, that pantomimes become fun again. They are hysterical when you are a child and then they're too cheesy for your rebellious teenage self. I don't know what the next stage is. But then they're fun again.

And then there's the Palladium Panto. In past years I've always watched it in January for a bit of a post-Christmas boost and assumed that it became a bit more adult by that point in the season because there were fewer kids being taken after they had all gone back to school.

This year's Panto - a kind of 'best of' affair - premiered yesterday with some royalty in attendance, so this is the first week of the run. I can't imagine they toned it down for the Prince William and his family last night. And it would appear that it's just as fabulously saucy from the first night.

The team deserved every minute of the standing ovation they got and not just for the brilliant performances but for that bit of joy they brought back to the world this evening.