Tony Gordon in panto? Oh yes he is!

We all know Tony Gordon is a nasty piece of work. Perfect then, wouldn't you say, to play a pantomime villain? That's exactly what Gray O'Brien, who plays Tony, has signed up to do after he leaves Coronation Street this year.

Gray will star in the Manchester Opera House panto Aladdin, as evil uncle Abanazar. It says here that current Corrie stars are not usually allowed to appear in panto, but due to a lucky bit of timing, he was able to take the role.

A Corrie spokeswoman explains: “Gray had been due to leave Corrie later this year, and so had arranged the role in panto. But scriptwriters went back to Gray to ask him to extend his contract as they have come up with another exciting storyline for his character. Gray wanted to honour his panto role, so he will take a short break before returning as Tony. So theatre-goers will get to see him being even more villainous in panto than he is in Corrie, if that’s possible!”

Eric Potts, who played Corrie's baker Diggory Compton, will also appear in the panto. Full details here.