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Pamela Anderson To Reprise ‘Genie’ For Pantomime

By Ian Cullen Jun 13, 2010, 17:19 GMT

04/09/2010 - Pamela Anderson West Hollywood, CA, USA © Amanda Meredith / PR Photos

Ah, the traditional British Pantomime just wouldn’t be the same without the participation of celebrities, and it looks like Pamela Anderson, who won a shed load of male admirers in the UK for her role of CJ Parker in "Baywatch" back in the 90's, is to return to Panto, reprising the role of the Genie in a production of Aladdin.

Anderson first played this role in a similar production which took place in London last year, only this December she’ll be bringing her lucky charms to Liverpool, where she’ll likely get a warm greeting from the locals.

For American readers that are not familiar with Pantomime, it's somewhat of a long running theatrical tradition here in the UK, designed to entertain families around about Christmas time.

The humour is often broad enough for the children to understand, but also cheeky enough for the adults to get something out of it, and audience participation is always encouraged.

The story of your average Pantomime is usually based on a classic fairy tale, only updated and peppered with a fair bit of creative license, and played much more for laughs.

The tradition has its roots in Ancient Greece, and usually encompasses themes of Comedy and tragedy, but often played in a lighthearted and theatrical way, where the actors are allowed to be somewhat more over the top.

Anderson will be joined by former "Family Fortunes" host and Panto regular Les Dennis. As well as popular "Happy Days" and "Royal Pains" actor Henry Winkler, who came to Liverpool last year to play Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

"I was thrilled to be invited to play the Genie again," Anderson told The Sun. "I'm really going to have a great time.

"It's fun, tongue-in-cheek and a cool experience for kids and adults, especially those just beginning their theatre life."

Monsters and Critics' contributing writer Ian Cullen is a former actor and community artist, and a lifetime fan of Science Fiction and television. He runs www.scifipulse.net  - a site, which follows the trends of science fiction television and movies.  He lives in Manchester, England.