Cross-dressing dwarves, a kidnapped princess and a less-than-pure Snow White... Jonathan Wilkes tells us why he wanted to create Pantos On Strike, running in Manchester from November 12 to 27 strictly for adults, BOASTING ‘the world’s most offensive song’, Jonathan Wilkes’ latest venture, Pantos On Strike, is certainly not a show to take your kids to.

Having roped in former Phoenix Nights comedian Paddy McGuinness to co-write and act alongside him, the Stoke entertainer’s tongue-in-cheek panto is coming to Manchester in November — and seems sure to set tongues wagging.

And the star names don’t stop there. The opening song has been written by Jonathan’s best pal Robbie Williams, with his newly-reunited Take That bandmate Gary Barlow.

“It’s a real family affair. I have roped in my mates and basically had a good laugh” said panto fanatic Jonathan, who came up with the idea for the show two years ago.

“When I told Rob of the idea he loved it and asked if he could write a song for it. He told Gary about it and they decided to write one together.

“He can’t wait to see the show and says he’ll be there on the opening night.

“I think it’s going to be one of those shows where we could have a different celebrity turning up every night.

“They could even pop up on stage, you never know.”

The show is set in ‘Pantoland’, where times are so hard that Dick Whittington is making his living running a seedy lap-dancing club.

The Evil King Foo, played by former Coronation Street star Brian Capron, has kidnapped the beautiful Princess.

So it’s up to handsome Prince Jonathan and reluctant sidekick Paddy to save the day.

The production has been a labour of love for Jonathan and Paddy.

“It has been two years in the pipeline,” said Jonathan. “It feels so good to finally be at the point where we are promoting the show.

“I love pantos. They are so much fun. I thought it would be great to create a panto just for adults, with plenty of laughs, where they could just be kids again for an evening.

“There will be lots of the traditional ‘oh no it’s not’ and ‘he’s behind you’ and audience participation stuff thrown in as well — it just wouldn’t be panto without it.

“But it isn’t a show you would want to bring your children to. There will be lots of adult humour and even what we think is probably the world’s most offensive song.”

Jonathan says he and Paddy wanted the script to stick closely to their northern roots.

“The panto which starts off in a flat in Bolton before me and Paddy enter Pantoland. We wanted it to have a bit of northern-ness about it.

“We chose to bring it to Manchester because it is close to our roots and is the best city outside London for theatre. It is the pinnacle of northern theatre and the audiences are very truthful. If they think it’s rubbish I’m sure they will let us know.

“Hopefully that won’t happen. We have already been asked to tour it and if it’s successful you never know, we might just be back for more next year.”

* Pantos On Strike runs from November 12 to 27 at Manchester Opera House. Tickets cost between £22.25 and £33.25, to book call 0844 372 7272.