One in five panto fans name Cinderella as their favourite show
Renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen recently put pantomime above Shakespeare in terms of popularity but how do the British public feel about the festive tradition? A new YouGov survey has revealed that four in ten Britons (43%) say they either like or love Christmas pantomimes, compared to 17% who say they dislike or hate them.
Three in ten (30%) say that they like Christmas pantomimes, with one in seven (14%) saying they love them. A third (34%) neither like nor dislike the panto but 10% say they dislike them and 7% channel their inner Scrooge by saying they hate them.
More women (51%) than men (35%) either like or love Christmas pantomimes, with about one in five women (18%) saying they love a festive night out at the theatre. A third of those aged 18 to 24 (34%) are panto fans compared to 43-45% of those aged 25 or over .
Despite 43% of Britons saying they either like or love Christmas pantomimes, only 13% say they intend to watch one this year.
A further 2% say they have already seen a seasonal production this year but nearly three-quarters of the British public (72%) say they do not intend to watch a panto.
Oh yes they do! One in five panto fans name Cinderella as their favourite
Of Britons who say they love or like Christmas pantomimes, 19% list Cinderella as their favourite, followed by Jack and the Beanstalk (11%) and Aladdin (9%).
More than twice as many women who enjoy a festive panto (25%) named Cinderella as their favourite performance compared to just one in ten men (10%), with more men preferring Jack and the Beanstalk (13%) and Aladdin (12%) than named Cinderella as their favourite.
Cinderella was also the most popular show for a third of people aged 65 and over who say they like or love Christmas pantomimes (32%), more than twice the share of panto fans aged 25 to 49 (14%).
Picture: Getty
