The Pantomime Awards 2025, winners announcement

On Sunday 13 April, the winners of The Pantomime Awards 2025, staged in partnership with Trafalgar Entertainment and ATG Entertainment, were announced by the UK Pantomime Association at a ceremony full of song and laughter at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking.Elaine C Smith picked up the illustrious award for Outstanding Achievement in Pantomime for her exceptional contribution to the Pantomime Industry for many decades as one of Scotland’s best-loved pantomime legends. Elaine was also one of the Awards show’s trio of presenters, sharing the stage for the evening with fellow top performers, Dave Benson Phillips and La Voix. The Special Recognition Awards, which celebrate productions and individuals representing the values that the Association seeks to promote, were given to:

• He’s Behind You! who received the award for Achievement in Inclusive Practice for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and demonstrating that the genre has endless potential in their progressive queer pantomimes.
• Oxford Playhouse who received the award for Achievement in Innovation for their fresh and exciting re-appraisals of familiar fairytale narratives and innovative use of plot and character to create fresh and vibrant pantomimes fit for the 21st Century.
• Brick Lane Music Hall who received the Nigel Ellacott Special Recognition Award for Pantomime History, Tradition and Heritage, an accolade which was introduced this year in remembrance of the much-loved pantomime artist and historian who sadly passed away in 2024. This award was given to Brick Lane Music Hall for their commitment to the traditions and conventions of Music Hall and Victorian Pantomime and celebrating pantomime’s rich heritage throughout their venue with numerous poster displays and costumes from significant pantomime performers, including Danny La Rue.

In full, here is the list of The Pantomime Awards 2025 winners:BEST CHOREOGRAPHY Ebony Clarke: Cinderella, Royal & Derngate, Northampton (Evolution Productions)BEST LIGHTING (sponsored by Production Light and Sound)Andy Webb: Sleeping Beauty, Festival Theatre, Malvern (UK Productions)CARMEN SILVERA AWARD FOR BEST MAGICAL BEING: Danielle Jam: Jack and the Beanstalk, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (Crossroads Pantomimes)BARBARA WINDSOR AWARD FOR BEST PRINCIPAL LEAD Mia Overfield: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fairfield Halls, Croydon (UK Productions)BEST SCRIPT: Anthony Spargo: Dick Whittington and his Cat, Greenwich Theatre, London (In-House)BEST SECONDARY LEAD: Mia Welsh: Dick Whittington, Theatre Royal Windsor (In-House)BEST VILLAIN (sponsored by Breckman and Company): Zoe West: Rapunzel, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (In-House)BEST COMIC: Steve Royle: Cinderella, Blackpool Grand Theatre (UK Productions)BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Katie Lias: Sleeping Beauty, Salisbury Playhouse (Wiltshire Creative)CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS AWARD FOR BEST DAME Antony Stuart-Hicks: The New Adventures of Peter Pan, Mercury Theatre, Colchester (In-House)BEST DIRECTION Chris Jordan: Snow White, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (Eastbourne Theatres in association with Jordan Productions)BEST ENSEMBLE Nikki Schofield, Alanna Panditaratne, James Everest, Ariel Nyandoro, Jacob Stebbings: Peter Pan, Victoria Theatre, Halifax (Imagine Theatre)BEST CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC Tayo Akinbode: Mother Goose, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto, Theatr Clwyd, Mold (In-House)BEST SET DESIGN (sponsored by Blue-i)Becky Minto: Mother Goose, Perth Theatre (In-House)BEST SISTERS Harry Howle and Steven Roberts: Cinderella, Cambridge Arts Theatre (In-House)BEST SOUND (sponsored by Orbital Sound)Kate Harvey: Jack and the Beanstalk, Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford (Imagine Theatre)BEST SUPPORTING ARTIST Marc Pickering: Snow White, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions)BEST NEWCOMER TO PANTOMIME Owain Wyn Evans: Cinderella, New Theatre, Cardiff (Crossroads Pantomimes)BEST NEWCOMER TO INDUSTRY Emma Robertson: Snow White, Loughborough Town Hall (Little Wolf Entertainment)BEST PANTOMIME (UNDER 500 SEATS) (sponsored by Showtime, a Howden Company)Dick Whittington and his Cat, Greenwich Theatre (In-House)BEST PANTOMIME (500 – 900 SEATS) Snow White, Loughborough Town Hall (Little Wolf Entertainment)BEST PANTOMIME (OVER 900 SEATS) Snow White, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions)OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PANTOMIME Elaine C SmithACHIEVEMENT IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICE He’s Behind You!ACHIEVEMENT IN INNOVATION Oxford PlayhouseNIGEL ELLACOTT SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR PANTOMIME HISTORY, TRADITION AND HERITAGE Brick Lane Music HallThe Awards ceremony featured special guest performances from entertainment legend Anita Harris, family favourite Basil Brush with award-winning comedian and cabaret performer Kevin Cruise (aka Martin Cabble-Reid) and ITV Britain’s Got Talent rising star ventriloquist Jamie Leahey.The evening’s In Memoriam honoured and celebrated many of the special and talented friends that the pantomime industry has sadly lost this year from both on and off stage.Simon Sladen, Chair of the UK Pantomime Association, said: “Huge congratulations to all of the nominees and winners at The Pantomime Awards 2025! What a wonderful evening to celebrate excellence across the pantomime industry and salute the talent, skill, passion, craftsmanship and expertise that goes into each and every season.”