Britain’s Got Talent Winner loving thought of south coast panto this Christmas

SussexWorld

Britain’s Got Talent Winner George Sampson is loving the thought of panto in Portsmouth this Christmas.

Transcript

00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Groupon Solicitor at Sussex Newspapers. Difficult

00:06to believe it's very nearly Panto time again, but lovely to speak to Dick Whittington, no

00:10less. Now, George Sampson, Britain's Got Talent winner of 2008, you are Dick Whittington at

00:16the England's Theatre in Southsea this Christmas. And you love Panto?

00:21I love Panto.

00:22Why? What is it about it?

00:24I just, it's the magic. It's the feel that I know people get watching it because I've

00:28experienced it myself. It's knowing that you're giving kids and children their first

00:33time, their first experience of real theatre. And, you know, you sort of, you link all aspects

00:38of what you've grown up to be. I have to sing, I have to dance, I have to act. I tell jokes.

00:44Never tell jokes until I do Panto. It's the only time I get to tell jokes. I love it.

00:48Ah, well, you were saying one of the keys to Panto is the timing. That's where the timing

00:51comes in then, clearly.

00:52Well, that's it. And I always used to think I wasn't a very funny person. And I believe

00:57that after now, this is Panto 18, 19, I don't know, we're coming up to 20, I know that.

01:03And I'm sort of getting the hang of it, if I'm honest. I'm enjoying it more and more.

01:07And the more I do it, the more I sort of lay off and I find it a little bit cooler, a little

01:11bit more relaxing. And I enjoy each Panto.

01:14You've got to relax into it, because presumably, I'm doing all those performances.

01:19Yeah, and I don't get nervous as such. I never really get nervous. I sort of let the adrenaline

01:23take over and do my thing. But with Panto, I really do think part of it is like just

01:26relaxing into it. And the more you enjoy it, the more they enjoy it. And the stupider

01:30you feel, usually the better it is.

01:32Yeah. And we're saying that there's so much changing in the world, particularly in the

01:36world of entertainment. But you kind of feel with Panto, it's kind of constant, isn't it?

01:41Has Panto changed in all the years?

01:43No, it never changes. I mean, I remember my first Panto was Peter Pan back in 2012. And

01:50I mean, every one I've done since then, it's the same sort of, it's, you know, it's ingredients

01:55that go into it that make it what it is. And those ingredients don't change. You know,

02:00you can change the cast.

02:01And audiences don't want Panto to change, do they, I guess?

02:04They don't want it to change. No, no. Why? If it's not broken, don't try to fix it.

02:08But doesn't it wreck your Christmas? Do you get any time to relax?

02:12Do you know what? It's not really, no. But for me, you know, I don't really know any

02:20different. I've sort of, I've been on the road and just been about 14. Yeah.

02:24So, you know, for me, Christmas now is, I've got my girlfriend,

02:30Kasmin, and she lives in Surrey. So, which is only about an hour from here.

02:36Yeah, so I've probably spent Christmas with her. That's what I kind of try and do every

02:41year, spend Christmas with her. Again, just because that's sort of just, I'm one of these

02:46people, wherever I lay my heart, that's home. I've never sort of...

02:51Well, you're in the right profession then, aren't you?

02:53Well, exactly that. Yeah. And I think it just comes from, you know, doing it from such a

02:57young age. It's just sort of been all I've known, really. So, yeah, this Christmas,

03:01I'll be all right. I'll be with my girlfriend and we'll be in Surrey and it'll be lovely.

03:06Fantastic. Well, looking forward to seeing the show come December.

03:10George, really lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

03:12Thank you for having me.

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