The Bill to hook up in Rickmansworth

Date:  21 June 2012

Charged with bringing nautical naughtiness to this year’s family pantomime will be down to one of the nation’s favourite bad guys as he takes on the captaincy of Hook in the spectacular adventures of Peter Pan at Watersmeet this Christmas.

Chris Ellison is known to millions as Detective Chief Inspector Frank Burnside from the popular ITV BAFTA winning series The Bill, which was watched by over 11 million viewers at its peak, and won Best Drama and a Writers Guild of Great Britain award during its 27 year run.

No stranger to playing villains, Chris’s career has seen him play hard men and corrupt cops from the early days of The Sweeney, The Professionals, Minder, Dempsey and Makepeace through to Judge John Deed and EastEnders and The Bill’s spin off series Burnside.

More recently Chris shared his excellent chef skills and kept his cool in the kitchen by winning Celebrity Come Dine with Me, has had guest appearances in New Tricks and Casualty, and on the big screen he appeared with Adam Deacon in Bonded by Blood and has just completed filming a horror film with Danny Dyer.

This year has seen Chris tour the country in the Dickens classic Great Expectations, appearing as Magwitch.

Despite the hard exterior making Chris perfect for the role of Captain Hook, the real Chris is an accomplished artist, having trained at both Wimbledon and Camberwell Schools of Art. He is currently working on several commissions and preparing for a forthcoming exhibition.

Tickets for the pantomime Peter Pan are already flying fast from the box office and are on course to set new records. People can hook up with Chris and the rest of the panto crew from 7 to 31 December. Tickets are available by calling 01923 711 063 or by visiting www.watersmeet.co.uk.