Yorkshire folk have a reputation for being insular. Nevertheless, York has taken a Sunderland lad to its heart, making Berwick Kaler its most popular adopted citizen. Now, Harrogate is doing likewise with a fellow pantomime dame, gangling Scotsman Alan McMahon.

Tonight, the curtain rises on McMahon's third year as Harrogate Theatre's dame, this time for 62 performances in the role of Nanny Clutterbuck in The Sleeping Beauty.

Modestly, he acknowledges: "I'm a minor cult figure now, on a small scale. Farmers are coming in from the fields to see me."

Does he envisage becoming an essential part of the Harrogate panto furniture? "It's only my third year, and I think I'll probably retire at the end of this season," he jests. "No, I'll come back as often as they ask me."

Judging by the advance bookings for The Sleeping Beauty, that promise will be well received. "Apparently, the box office is doing even better than last year, which is great news for us," says Alan.

Harrogate Theatre artistic director Rob Swain invited McMahon to join the Harrogate hall of dames in 1998. "I jumped at the chance as I hadn't done traditional pantomime for a while and I love it," says McMahon, who grew up on the legendary Glasgow pantomimes of Rikki Fulton and Stanley Baxter.

"Some people are against panto because they think it's smutty but the skill is in knowing how far you can go with what you're doing, and that comes down to instinct.

"My approach to being the dame is to have lots of energy and fun without overstepping the mark, and you must make it obvious that it's you inside all that clobber."

His 'clobber' last year included the grand finale of a dress in the shape of the Millennium Dome. How can he trump that Dame in the Dome this year? "I can't give anything away, but I can tell you the final costume will be closer to home than the Dome," he says.

So, look out for Monday's paper for the Alan MacMahon fashion report.

* The Sleeping Beauty, Harrogate Theatre, until January 13. Tickets: £7 to £13.80; ring 01423 502116.