A SOAP star and Dancing on Ice champion is set to glide onto the stage at the Palace Theatre, Redditch, this Christmas when he stars in the family favourite panto Beauty and the Beast.

Bringing a touch of swagger is actor and champion ice skater Sam Attwater in the role of Gaston, the local lothario and wooer of heroine Belle.

Sam has been a regular fixture on our screens since his first foray into soap land in Hollyoaks in 2009.

Since then he has gone on to star in EastEnders, Mr Selfridge, Dancing on Ice, and shows such as End of the Rainbow, Dreamboats and Petticoats, The Rocky Horror Show and and Jason and the Argonauts.

Taking on the role of panto baddie is Bad Girl and Emmerdale vixen, Nicole Faraday, who plays the Witch.

Comedy impressionist and Redditch panto favourite Tony Rudd is set to thrill with his comic capers as the loveable Wacky Willie.

James Meunier delivers a West End stella performance as both Prince François and the Beast, while Adam Daye dishes up a recipe of success with audiences of all ages as the adorable Madame Cherie Trifle.

Actor Andrew Haynes stars as the hysterical Professor René Crackpot and Natalie Turner lights up the stage as Belle.

A theatre spokesman said: "Of course, all the fabulous pantomime ingredients audiences have come to expect and deserve will be in abundance, from the fairytale set and colourful costumes, to creative choreography, live music, and lots and lots of laughter. It will be a beast of a pantomime."

Beauty and the Beast opens on Monday, December 5 and plays until December 31.