Happy Valley star joins cast for city’s Christmas panto

Derby LIVE has announced that an actress who appeared in hit television shows such as Happy Valley and The Thin Blue Line has joined the cast for this year’s Christmas pantomime at Derby Arena.

Mina Anwar will star as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, which will take place at the arena from Friday 6 December to Tuesday 31 December.

The well-known actress from Lancashire is no stranger to Derby having appeared in a panto at the Assembly Rooms.

She is best known for her roles in Happy Valley as Mrs Mukherjee and The Thin Blue Line as Constable Maggie Habib, while children will recognise her from the CBBC show The Sarah Jane Adventures.

She recently joined the cast and crew from both Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment at the Cinderella launch at the arena.

Mina said: “It’s been quite a few years since I did panto in Derby in the old Assembly Rooms so I’m looking forward to seeing how the city has changed.

“Also, who wouldn’t want to be a fairy godmother and make some wishes come true?”

In a joint statement, producers at Little Wolf Entertainment, Alan Bowles and Morgan Brind, said: “We had the pleasure of seeing Mina Anwar in the original cast of the Sheffield Crucible production of the now smash hit musical, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a few years ago.

“Since then, we knew that we would really like to work with her, and so we’re absolutely delighted that she will be adding her magic touch to Cinderella this Christmas at Derby Arena.”

Tickets for Cinderella are now on sale. For more information visit https://www.derbylive.co.uk/whats-on/cinderella2024/ .