Sheffield retro: 21 photos of panto stars through the years, including Neighbours and Corrie legends

'It's behind you' they say, but you can never be too sure in panto land.

These pantomimes which have graced Sheffield's theatres over the years, all the way back to 1955, are most definitely behind us, however.

This look back at the festive family shows, beloved for their slapstick daftness, shows just how many big names have been persuaded to dress up in silly costumes and tread the boards in Christmases gone by.

They include Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher, better known as Dr Karl Kennedy, Coronation Street's Wendi Peters, and Samantha Womack, from EastEnders.

Some of the biggest names from children's TV over the years are also represented, like Richard McCourt, from Dick and Dom, Bodger and Badger, Andy Day and Blue Peter's John Noakes/

Hi-de-Hi! legend Ruth Madoc, Emmerdale's Hayley Tamaddon and, going further back, Jimmy Clitheroe, who was a big name in the 1950s and 60s, have also appeared in panto in Sheffield.

And this retro photo gallery of pantos at the Lyceum Theatre and City Hall wouldn't be complete, of course, without Sheffield legend Bobby Knutt.