WHAT do you get if you cast the spotlight on Bobby Davro in chequered dungarees, singing Steps’ version of Tragedy alongside a hunchbacked beast, a fairy and an outlandish Dame?

The York Barbican Easter panto, of course.

From the same team behind The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan, their latest show was upbeat and funny, delivering the feelgood factor, with a strong cast, blend of contemporary music and plenty of laughs.

Comedy legend Bobby Davro who described himself as “the only entertainer from the 80s who hasn’t been arrested” was the star of the show as Silly Billy with a steady stream of jokes, slapstick humour and innuendo subtle enough not to offend.

David Phipps-Davis played Dame Dolly Dumpling with aplomb, with a big personality, even bigger hair and a powerful, diva-like voice which particularly shone through during a singing impressions competition when Phipps-Davis belted out Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma with pure gusto.

Tracy Beaker star and Strictly Come Dancing finalist Dani Harmer was well cast as Beauty – or Booty, as she was called by the comical French baddie Baron Bourbon (Andrew Fleming), with her crystal-clear pitch, theatrical hands-on-hips stance, and ability to both sing and dance.

Lee Latchford-Evans, from nineties band Steps, was the Prince/Beast, with a liquid-smooth voice which surprised and enthralled the audience, while Rachel Grundy was a very enchanting Fairy Liquid and narrator.

There was a handful of token York-related jokes thrown into the mix, and a lazy, unnecessary jibe about an overweight celebrity.

But otherwise the gags and one-liners flowed and hit the mark, with both predictably cheesy ones and original jokes, leaving my eight-year-old, among many others in the audience, in fits of giggles.

My five-year-old struggled slightly to keep up with Davro’s quick-fire banter but there was plenty of slapstick comedy for younger viewers who also got caught up in all the traditional panto antics, happily joining in when requested and screaming with delight when water pistols were aimed at the audience. For me, some of the funniest moments were when the cast forgot their lines, ad-libbed and had each other in stitches.

The show, with eye-catching sets, colourful costumes, dance routines and popular songs, was produced by Jezz Weatherall and directed by Guy Pascall, as part of a large-scale national tour mounted by Enchanted Entertainment.