Cheryl Fergison as Witch Guillotine
T O many she will always be George Michael-loving Heather Trott from EastEnders, but Cheryl Fergison is enjoying herself breaking new ground.
Since leaving the BBC soap she has starred in Celebrity Big Brother, Loose Women and Your Face Sounds Familiar, as well as her current turn in comedy Big School alongside David Walliams and Catherine Tate.
And, she says she is relishing the opportunity to do something new since Heather met an untimely end at the hands of Ben Mitchell.
She said: "Life goes on after EastEnders and I've been lucky enough to be in Big brother, Big School and other things. People will always remember me as Heather in EastEnders but I think it's nice that now, rather than shouting 'Hev' they will say 'Hello Cheryl.'
"I think it's nice to do stuff as reality TV so people see me as me, also people in panto see different sides of me; they see that I can sing, in some pantos I've played instruments and people don't know I can do that."
Her unknown musical talents are something Heather is keen to exploit further.
"I play everything," she said. " I don't read music but I can play everything I have them all at home; drum kits, 10 guitars, saxophones.
"People don't know that about me, and hopefully what I would like to do after the panto is maybe a little tour so maybe people come and see what and who I am."
But Witch Guillotine presents a new opportunity for Cheryl too – for the first time in her panto career she is going bad.
"Normally I play the good girl but this year I'm going to be sort of slightly bad and slightly saucy and a bit mischievous," she laughed.
"I am looking forward to turning to the dark side and taking a few people along the dark side with me, though really there is always light at the end of the tunnel isn't there? Always in panto so that's where I'm hoping to end up."
Cheryl is a firm believer in the importance of panto, as part of both the Christmas tradition and a way to introduce young people to the magic of theatre.
She said: "I love the audience, the people who spend their Christmases and New Years with us. It's children, it's old people, it's young people, its everyone. Across the spectrum, everyone comes.
"We need to put on a spectacular show for them. For me its about making it the best experience because it might be the first experience of theatre for some of these young people. You might get a little one come and these are our future theatre goers, so we need to make it good."
So what does she have planned next?
"I'd like to be in a nice musical in the West End, though I have done it before it is something I'd like to go back to," Cheryl said. But, she chuckled: "A film with Brad Pitt wouldn't go amiss or George Clooney I suppose. I don't know about a romantic lead, if I get into being the baddie then maybe a baddie role. People expect me to be good.
"I think I should flit – two years as a baddie, three years as a goodie."
And she has already scouted out the town ahead of spending her festive period in East Surrey.
"This is my first time in Redhill," she said. "I did come a back route, I came through some lovely villages on the way here then ended up going round the whole of this town on the one-way system so I do, at least, know where there's various eating places on the way."
"I'm quite looking forward to going into the old Belfry Centre too for a bit of a look what's going on."
Photos by Keith Walter
