WHEN Suzy Samson was taken to watch Robin Hood And His Merry Mam at York Theatre Royal she had no idea she was to become the star of the show.

However, before the final curtain came down on the performance Suzy had agreed to marry boyfriend Chris Collins after he popped the question with a little help from pantomime dame Berwick Kaler.

Chris, 43, planned everything to ensure the proposal came as a complete surprise, with Berwick surprising Suzy from the stage at the traditional reading out of dedications and requests from audience members.

“The joke has always been that I would never ask Suzy to marry me and, ironically, it turned out I didn’t because Berwick did it for me,” said Chris.

“He did it right at the end when he was reading out the cards.

“It was a tense night. I just kept looking at my watch and wanting the show to end.”

Chris, who has worked previously at the theatre as a technician and was well known to Berwick, said he got down on one knee at their seats in the box, while “Berwick did the rest” from the stage.

His new fiancée admitted she had had no idea what was going to happen.

“I went absolutely bright red – I could feel my face burning,” said Suzy, 33.

“To be honest, I just wanted to disappear – it totally shook me up.

“I did say yes – but there was a lot of commotion with the audience so I don’t think anybody actually heard me so Berwick had to tell everyone to be quiet.”

The couple, from Burton Stone Lane in York, are now looking forward to making their wedding plans but have not yet decided on a date for the big day.