:: This story first appeared on the Express & Star's website on June 21st 2008 ::
Little Jimmy Krankie almost appeared on Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre stage without his trademark cap after the son of a celebrity friend hid it backstage. The practical joke was revealed on ITV’s Loose Women.
During the programme, The Krankies – alias Janette and Ian Tough – spoke of their love of panto. The pair, who are both aged 61, will be back at the Grand this year for Peter Pan after a successful run last Christmas with Dick Whittington. Janette said: “We were in Wolverhampton last year, and we will be back there again this year.”
She raised a laugh from the show’s studio audience when she told of how Loose Women host, actress Denise Welch, came to the city to see last year’s pantomime with her young son Louis.
The cheeky tot stole Janette’s trademark red cap just before she was about to take to the stage.
She said: “I was ready to go on stage and I said ‘Where’s my red cap?’ I had a blow-up bed that I had got from Argos and Louis had put it right down the side of the bed.” Both Krankies were forced to carry out a frantic search of their dressing room, finding the cap with just moments to spare.
The pair, who are veterans of stage and TV shows such as Crackerjack, were a big hit at the Grand panto. Janette, who stands at 4ft 5in, said she used the blow-up bed to rest on between shows during the gruelling run. The husband-and-wife partnership are about to go on the road to seaside resorts with the Best of British Variety tour. Janette said The Krankies would be touring the country with entertainers including magician Paul Daniels and entertainer Frank Carson before coming back to Wolverhampton for this year’s star-studded pantomime.
The couple looked tanned, having just returned from Australia where they spend around six months of the year at their home on the East Coast. They said they always took off Down Under after the panto for a break before returning to work the summer season in this country.
More than 16,000 tickets have already been snapped up to see Peter Pan at the Grand. The show will star showbiz favourite Paul Nicholas and will also be a return to the Grand for Nicholas, who performed there last year in the musical comedy 42nd Street.
Peter Pan will be at the theatre in Lichfield Street from December 6 to January 25. Tickets can be booked on 01902 429212 or on-line at www.grandtheatre.co.uk
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