One-time Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow has reinvented himself - as a pantomime villain! Treading the boards in pantoland for the sixth time, Marti is starring as the ever-so-wicked Ratman in Birmingham Hippodrome’s lavish production of Dick Whittington. 
What’s On recently caught up with him to find out why playing bad feels so good...

What do you enjoy so much about panto that you keep returning to it, Marti?
The whole experience is just fantastic, but it’s also about getting to work with people I’d never thought I’d work with. Like, for instance, the first time I came to Birmingham, I worked with Julian Clary, who was an absolute sweetheart - a very generous entertainer who looked after me right through the whole experience. 
I think that’s the great thing about panto - apart from getting to spend it at Birmingham Hippodrome, which is one of my favourite theatres in the whole of the world - I love the idea of being part of people’s Christmases, pure and simple. But that’s not to say I wasn’t hesitant at first. I wasn’t sure if it was for me, but I soon thought, you know what, I really like this. 

What makes Marti Pellow a good baddie?
I’ve always got a smile on my face, and I kind of think that that discombobulates you a little bit. When it comes to panto, I just love being a baddie. I love it when the kids boo me. Some of them even run down the aisle a little bit and then run away. It’s a bit of fun, and I think the older I get, the more at peace I am with taking on those challenges. 

So you don’t mind being booed?
No. I was booed at the beginning of my career, and I’ll be booed at the end of it! 

Even though being the baddie has plenty to recommend it, don’t you ever fancy playing one of the good guys?
I think the parts pick you, but it’s also about doing whatever you feel you’re more comfortable with - where you feel you might be able to bring a lot more to the table. Musically, darker characters are a lot more appealing and I can do a lot more. I’m not a Wishy Washy.

What’s your earliest panto memory?
Stanley Baxter at the King’s Theatre when I was eight years old. It was my first-ever outing to the theatre. Who would have thought that all those years later I would be on Broadway? So panto was my first experience of live theatre. When I look at some of my social-media posts, I get messages from new fans saying “That’s the first time I ever saw you.” They don’t know anything about my back-catalogue in music - they’ve only ever seen me in panto. There are always lots of comments like: Yeah, we love booing you; It was great; We liked it. It’s all a way of moving on with the next generation.

Yes, because panto is often a child’s first experience of theatre…
That’s exactly right! They see the lights and the magic, and that sometimes leads to other things. Maybe if they’re brave enough, and their mums and dads are supportive enough, it might encourage them to pursue theatre as a vocation.

Panto mishaps are commonplace. Which one that you’ve been involved with instantly springs to mind?
They happen all the time. At the Mayflower in Southampton, I kept forgetting to put my hook on. I’d be on stage and be like,  something doesn’t feel right. I’ll be like, ‘Ah shit, I have nae got a hook!’ At the end of the show, I would always fess up and ask the audience did they engage in that moment? I think that’s the whole thing about panto - there’s a lot of improvisation going on. 
Some of those little mistakes can give you great ammunition because you’re engaging in the moment. Yeah, there are mistakes - I would miss cues all the time. Working with Matt Slack is the worst... You’ll be interacting with Matt and then suddenly he’ll see something shiny. That’s a dangerous thing for our Matt... ‘Ooh, shiny!’ and away he goes…

If you could perform alongside anyone from history as a fellow panto villain, who would you choose and why?
Danny Kaye, because I think he was a great performer. He was so eclectic as a performer,  a great sportsman and a great player. Watching him was always so accessible.  

How do you plan to maintain your evilness when you’re being confronted by Matt Slack’s silliness?
Well, what I do is stare into him and make him feel very, very uncomfortable! The good thing about me is that I’ve got a good poker face. 

I think you need that with Matt, don’t you?
Matt just goes off at a tangent, and I think you’ve just got to let him fly. That’s what I love about working with the comedians and that, when they’re all so defined. I don’t come out of that bubble, so I’m a good interactor. So I just let him fly. He bops around me, and I just let him fly.

What are you most looking forward to about spending time in Birmingham?
Doing two shows a day means my days are pretty mapped out, but what I do also enjoy is being able to take a walk around; shopping, enjoying the restaurants, enjoying the people in the city. Birmingham just pings for me in the way it sparkles.

And you’ve already had an invite out from Glynn Purnell, haven’t you?
Yeah, so I’ll go and annoy him, and show him exactly how it’s done! I love his imagination.

Finally, what’s your favourite Christmas tradition?
It would definitely involve mistletoe and a loved one.

Marti Pellow stars as Ratman in Dick Whittington which shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Sat 17 December until Sunday 29 January