Panto prank puts Hibby Grant in Gorgielocks

Published on Monday 3 December 2007 12:18

FOR years, he has hammed it up to Capital audiences playing outrageous pantomime villains.

But now Grant Stott may be wishing somebody had yelled "behind you!" when back-stage crew at the King's Theatre sabotaged his new dressing room.

The die-hard Hibs supporter has been left horrified after the walls and furnishings were redecorated in the colours of city rivals Hearts. A new brass plaque was even fitted on the door engraved with the words "Tynecastle Suite".

The Evening News columnist had been looking forward to moving into the larger dressing room, usually occupied by long-standing King's co-star Andy Gray.

During a break in final rehearsals for Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which began its run on Saturday, he said: "With Andy performing in London this year, I've been promoted to his former dressing room.

"However, the crew have obviously decided to welcome me into it this year by giving it a bit of a makeover.

"We've been rehearsing the show for a while now, but we've only just started full rehearsals at the theatre. On the first day we were there, I saw what they'd done to the room and I was pretty shocked.

"When I first got the keys, I saw there was a keyring with the words 'Tynecastle Suite' on it, but I thought that was the extent of the joke. It was only when I got to the dressing room and opened it that I realised they'd gone even further. There's a brass plaque on the door with 'Tynecastle Suite' on it and all the furnishings have been replaced with Hearts colours.

"I've got Hearts' curtains, a Hearts' clock, shower curtains and a whole lot more. It's everywhere. It's a great prank by the crew, but I was taken aback a little bit when I first saw it all."

The STV football presenter and Forth One DJ confirmed he will be seeing maroon-and-white until the end of the show's run in January.

"I have to keep them up in the name of impartiality," he joked. "As a presenter of Scotsport, I can't show a bias against any team, so I'm stuck with it for the next seven weeks.

"Of course, I'm absolutely thrilled at the prospect of being surrounded by the maroon of Hearts before every show and I'm delighted with the choice of furnishings that the crew have decided on. I'm really looking forward to spending the next month or so in the Tynecastle Suite!"

Staff at the theatre said they were surprised that the Hibs fan - who is playing villainous Vladimir Heinkel in the panto based on the classic fairytale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears - planned to keep the Hearts decor.

Darrell Williams, sales and marketing manager at the King's Theatre, said: "Grant spends every Christmas being booed at, twice-a-day for seven weeks, so he's got nerves of steel.

"However, this traumatic 'Changing Rooms'-style makeover may push him over the edge into even more villainous panto behaviour."

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears, starring Allan Stewart and Grant Stott, runs at the King's Theatre until January 20.