Welcome to Judy’s panto gallery. A uniquely British genre, Judy feels that pantomime is often much maligned in certain quarters and not always given the respect it deserves. “It is a crucial element of our theatre’s heritage,” she explains. “Not only has it the ability to cross barriers and appeal to all ages but is often the first theatre a child will experience and therefore is vital in capturing the young persons imagination, thus encouraging audiences of the future.

From a professional point of view, Judy’s introduction to pantomime performing has come relatively recently in her career, however, she did appear as Principal Boy in a production of The Swan Down Gloves staged by the RSC, which she describes as “Pantomime with a definite RSC slant!” It was in 1998 that Judy arrived in Pantoland proper for her first traditional pantomime, Peter Pan performed at The Kings Theatre, Aberdeen. It was in at the deep end for the actress who actually played not one but two roles in he show namely that of the quintessential Victorian lady, Mrs Darling and in stark contrast, the Magic Mermaid, affectionately referred to by Judy as “rather dipsy!” Twelve months later, she was teamed with her then future husband, Jeffrey Holland, by pantomime entrepreneur extraordinaire, Paul Elliott and the dye was cast. The show was Jack and the Beanstalk with Judy appearing as the Good Fairy and Jeffrey in the role of Dame Durden. Also starring were John Nettles as Fleshcreep, Tony Adams as The King and Jesse Spencer as Jack.

With the exception of just two years early in the decade, Judy and Jeff have co starred in panto on a regular basis ever since and although neither of them considers it to be a criterion, Judy does confess that she particularly enjoys working with her husband over the festive season. To date, her roles have essentially erred on the side of the righteous as the Good Fairy in Jack and the Beanstalk, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Genie of the Ring in Aladdin and the aforementioned Mrs Darling and Magic Mermaid in Peter Pan. But with natural poise and commanding stage presence, it is hardly surprising that Judy harbours a secret passion to swap her magic wand for the poisoned apple of the Wicked Queen in Snow White, the cat-o-nine-tails brandished by Queen Rat in Dick Whittington or the venomous spells of Carabouse in Sleeping Beauty.