Bradford-born pantomime dame Andrew Ryan is taking the show on the road ahead of his appearance at the Alhambra Theatre in this year’s production of Robin Hood.

The Panto Roadshows are aimed at children aged seven to 11 with a view to enhancing their understanding of the pantomime and the theatre through memory games, songs, poems and rap.

Mr Ryan said: “We go around about ten schools a week, we've been to loads of places.

“We tell children about backstage life at the theatre, make them aware of the local theatre, what pantomime is and the things they might see in the panto.

“It’s a whole show, it's not a workshop, it’s a proper show.”

Though it was 1968 when he last performed in the city, he was optimistic about his role as Nurse Nelly in Robin Hood. “The last time I performed at the Alhambra it was the Rocky Horror Show,” he said. “I have been back since because my parents still live in Leeds, but I haven’t performed here for 25 years.”

Mr Ryan went to St Barnabas Primary and Daisy Hill Middle Schools.

“Bradford has changed. Things seem bigger when you’re little, but it still has the lovely buildings. The theatre has changed from when I was a child, but it’s a beautiful auditorium,” he said.