'It was my absolute honour!' Tommy Cannon retires from pantomime after 48 years

Tommy Cannon has retired from pantomime after 48 years.

The 85-year-old comic is to hang up his panto costume after 37 recent festive performances of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' at Consett Empire, Consett, County Durham, in which he portrayed Lord Mayor Tommy Tomato.

Counsellor Elizabeth Scott, the council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, told The Northern Echo newspaper: "It has been a privilege to have Tommy perform in our pantomimes and to share in the joy he’s brought to our audiences.

"We wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

"We celebrated giant audiences at Consett this year, but the fun won’t stop there. Leah will be returning to Empire Consett later this year to write, direct and star in the most magical fairy tale of all - Cinderella."

In response to an article about his last-ever panto, Tommy wrote on X: "It was my absolute honour".

It was a full circle moment for Tommy, who made his panto debut in 'Jack and the Beanstalk' in 1975, alongside his comedy partner Bobby Ball.

Tommy's Cannon and Ball co-star died in October 2020 aged 76 after testing positive for COVID, and Tommy previously admitted it was a "real struggle" getting back on stage without Bobby.

He told the 'My Time Capsule' podcast: "Having lost my partner Bobby I did panto last year, this year sort of thing, in County Durham, and I found it a real, real struggle.

"Because Bob and I did 40-something pantos together and when we used to do them it was great because we could cover for one another with the lines.

"We'd never have too many lines, it was always sketches that we did. So it was really good.

"So I had lots of lines to learn and I was beginning to get a bit panicky."