GLADIATORS star Rocket was a big hit with young fans when she visited Pendle to promote her starring role in a pantomime.

Rocket, real name Pauline Richards, joined dance students for a warm-up at the Susan Chippendale School of Dance, Colne.

And she needed to warm up...she had said her skimpy Gladiators outfit was not warm enough to cope with the Lancashire climate when she met pupils earlier at Lord Street and Sacred Heart primary schools, Colne.

She quickly covered up again after signing autographs.

She also visited West Craven Sports Centre, Barnoldswick, Pendle Wavelengths swimming pool, Nelson, and the Asda store, Colne.

Rocket, a Great Britain heptathlete, will star as the slave of the ring in Aladdin at Colne Municipal Hall from December 27 to January 11.

"It's the first time I've done pantomime," she said.

"I'm looking forward to it but I'm not too sure what to expect. We start in Dunfermline in Scotland for a fortnight and then we're down here so I should have got used to it by then."

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