The winners have been revealed of The Pantomime Awards 2026, celebrating the talent, skill, enthusiasm and hard work of people on stage and behind the scenes of Britain’s much-loved pantomimes.

Organised by The UK Pantomime Association, the awards ceremony took place yesterday, Sunday 19 April 2026, at the Wycombe Swan Theatre in High Wycombe.

The 5th annual awards saw a number of high-profile wins, including Jeevan Braich (Starlight Express) and Caitlin O’Shea winning Best Newcomers, and the inaugural Panto Icon Awards going to West End and TV stars Brian Conley and Lesley Joseph.

Other winners included West End favourite Gary Wilmot, who won the Best Direction Award, TV and stage star Nigel Harman as Best Villain, and Joe McElderry for Best Magical Being.

Last night also saw a number of special guest performances from some of pantomime’s biggest stars and brightest new talent.

Nominations for The Pantomime Awards 2026 were announced on 12 March.

The awards are sponsored by ATG Entertainment and Trafalgar Entertainment.

The Pantomime Awards 2026 – Full list of winners

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Claire Cassidy: Sleeping Beauty, Harlow Playhouse (KD Theatre Productions)

BEST LIGHTING (SPONSORED BY PRODUCTION LIGHT AND SOUND)
Nic Farman: Sleeping Beauty, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment)

CARMEN SILVERA AWARD FOR BEST MAGICAL BEING (SPONSORED BY BARRY BURNETT)
Joe McElderry: Aladdin, Newcastle Theatre Royal (Crossroads Pantomimes)

BARBARA WINDSOR AWARD FOR BEST PRINCIPAL LEAD (SPONSORED BY SCOTT MITCHELL)
Sario Solomon: Aladdin, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions and Sheffield Theatres)

BEST SCRIPT
Andrew Pollard: Beauty and the Beast, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (In-House)

BEST SECONDARY LEAD
Ruth Betteridge: Jack and the Beanstalk, Festival Theatre, Malvern (UK Productions)

BEST VILLAIN (SPONSORED BY BRECKMAN AND COMPANY)
Nigel Harman: Jack and the Beanstalk, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (UK Productions)

BEST COMIC (SPONSORED BY THE TWINS FX)
Jez Edwards: Sleeping Beauty, Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds (Paul Holman Associates)

BEST COSTUMES
James MacIver: Sleeping Beauty, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (Belgrade Theatre and Imagine Theatre)

STANLEY BAXTER AWARD FOR BEST DAME (SPONSORED BY JOHN GOOD)
Allan Stewart: Jack and the Beanstalk, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (Crossroads Pantomimes)

BEST DIRECTION
Gary Wilmot, Cinderella, Richmond Theatre, London (Crossroads Pantomimes)

BEST ENSEMBLE (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ARTS 1)
Lianha Cooke, Gemma Davis, Chloe Davies, Olly Gooch, Thomas Marc Toombs, Richard Womersley, Erin Harrison and Finlay Tozer: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne (Made to Measure Productions)

BEST CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC
James Harrison: Aladdin, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield (Evolution Productions and Sheffield Theatres)

BEST SET (SPONSORED BY BLUE-I THEATRE TECHNOLOGY)
Kenny Miller: Gallus in Weegieland, Tron Theatre, Glasgow (In-House)

BEST SISTERS
Hannah Roberts and Fran Cottington aka Han and Fran: Cinderella, Venue Cymru, Llandudno (Imagine Theatre)

BEST SOUND (SPONSORED BY ORBITAL SOUND)
Conrad Kemp: Dick Whittington, St Helens Theatre Royal (Regal Entertainment)

BEST SUPPORTING ARTIST
Ada Campe: Growled: Beauty and the Beast continues…, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London (In-House)

BEST NEWCOMER TO PANTOMIME
Jeevan Braich: Cinderella, Norwich Theatre Royal (In-House)

BEST NEWCOMER TO INDUSTRY
Caitlin O’Shea: Sleeping Beauty, Central Theatre, Chatham (Jordan Productions)

BEST PANTOMIME (UNDER 550 SEATS) (SPONSORED BY KB EVENT)
Weans in the Wood, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (In-House)

BEST PANTOMIME (550 TO 950 SEATS) (SPONSORED BY SHOWTIME, PART OF HOWDEN)
Sleeping Beauty, The Arts Theatre Cambridge (In-House)

BEST PANTOMIME (OVER 950 SEATS) (SPONSORED BY UNUSUAL RIGGING)
Sleeping Beauty, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (In-House)

PANTO ICON
Lesley Joseph

PANTO ICON
Brian Conley

ACHIEVEMENT IN INNOVATION
Johnny McKnight

NIGEL ELLACOTT SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR PANTOMIME HISTORY, TRADITION AND HERITAGE
Keith Simmons

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PANTOMIME
Terry Parsons

Sign-up for news and booking alerts about these shows and more:
Main photo: The Pantomime Awards 2026 winners announced. Lesley Joseph, Brian Conley, Jeevan Braich. Photos by Andrew Billington

Related News

See all

Latest News

See all