Holly told you shall go the ball as Cinders

Open auditions for the part of Cinders were held at the Crucible with the winner being handed the title role in the show at the Lyceum.

Around 120 girls auditioned for the part before a panel of judges – including Rob McVeigh a finalist of BBC's Any Dream Will Do.

After beating off some stiff competition, rising Sheffield star Holly Johnson, aged 19, was chosen as the all-singing all-dancing star.

Sheffield Theatres, in partnership with Evolution Productions, are this year producing their own pantomime for the first time since the 1980s.

Cinderella will play at the Lyceum Theatre over Christmas and producer and director Paul Hendry was determined to fill the title role with a local lass.

"We were looking for a Yorkshire girl to play the title role, so we had open auditions to see if we could unearth some hidden talent.

"We're really excited to have cast Holly. She is exactly what we were looking for – a local girl with buckets of talent and enthusiasm with which to wow her home audience."

The hopefuls had to show off their dancing and singing skills and those who made it to the final round, had to act opposite Rob, who will play Dandini in the show.

Holly, who has been performing in the city since she was a youngster, said: "I don't think it's really sunk in yet.

"The auditions were really difficult – the competition was very strong and I was there for over nine hours. But it's just such an amazing opportunity. It's definitely going to be worth all the hard work."

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