YORK stage legend Berwick Kaler is one of the most famous and long-running pantomime dames in Britain.

In a career spanning over 40 years, a Berwick panto has become a festive tradition for thousands of families in York and our region.

Most of these years have been spent at York Theatre Royal, but more recently, Berwick and his loyal gang (sidekick Martin Barrass, leading lady Suzy Cooper, and regular baddie David Leonard) are now treading the boards across town at the Grand Opera House. This year, they are staging The Adventures Of Old Mother Goose.

As panto season gets into full swing, we thought we'd take a look back at some of the amazing costumes worn by Berwick over the years - and some stories that hit the headlines.

Berwick's first panto at the Theatre Royal was in 1977, when he starred in Cinderella. During his long run at the Theatre Royal, he missed two years - 1986 and 1987.

York Press: Berwick as Widow Twanky in 1981Berwick as Widow Twanky in 1981

As fans will know, Berwick grew up in Sunderland. He left school at 15 and moved to London to follow his dream of becoming an actor.

He worked as a painter and decorator in London while looking for theatrical roles. The story goes that one day, while painting a set, he asked actor Laurence Harvey if it was necessary to go to acting school. Harvey told him just to buy a copy of The Stage and turn up at an audition. Berwick followed this advice and ended up getting a job at Dreamland in Margate.

Berwick has had success as a TV actor in shows such as The New Statesman, Crocodile Shoes, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Spender as well as steady theatre work.

However, it is his role as York's panto dame for which he is most famous.

Over the years, he has played the dame in countless productions, often with a humourous twists on tradition. Who can forget Babbies in the Wood (2002), Robin Hood and his Merry Mam (2012), Aladdin and the Twankees (2013) and Dick Whittington & His Meerkat, which was staged in a temporary traverse theatre in 2015 at the National Railway Museum while the Theatre Royal underwent a facelift.

York Press: Berwick in 1982 production of Babes in the WoodBerwick in 1982 production of Babes in the Wood

Berwick has appeared in many guises over the decades including the star as Little Bo Beep, the Sydney Opera House, the solar system and even a Walnut Whip!

In 2020 it was announced that Berwick would be taking his legendary panto show to York's Grand Opera House.