EastEnders legend Todd Carty is heading back to the theatre this Christmas in a new panto role.
The actor – best known for playing Mark Fowler in the BBC soap – will be appearing in a production of Sleeping Beauty in Poole this festive season.
And in a nod to one of his other iconic roles, his character is called King Tucker.
Many will remember that Todd started his acting career as a child actor playing Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill back in the 1970s.
Speaking about his new role, Todd told the Bournemouth Echo: ‘Sleeping Beauty is a new one for me. I have played a king before in Jack and the Beanstalk, although this might be a different type of king – we’ll have to see what comes out in the wash.
‘I like to have fun in panto. It’s a huge team effort and we all want to put on a show that everyone enjoys – grandma, grandad, mum, dad and the children, of course.’
Sleeping Beauty will be staged at the Lighthouse in Poole – a theatre familiar to Todd, who appeared in a production of The Mousetrap there earlier this year.
He added: ‘It’s lovely to come back and, more importantly, it’s lovely to be asked to come back.’
The actor portrayed Mark Fowler in EastEnders from 1990 to 2003.
Mark was the eldest son of Pauline and Arthur Fowler (Wendy Richard and Bill Treacher), who were also parents to Michelle (Susan Tully) and Martin (James Bye).
One of Mark’s biggest storylines saw him diagnosed with HIV in 1991.
In 2003, Mark was told by a doctor that his body was rejecting the medication to prolong his life and slow down the onset of AIDS, and he decided to leave Walford so his family would not have to watch him die.
He left the Square on his motorbike, before dying off-screen a year later.
Since Todd’s departure from EastEnders, he’s gone on to appear in a variety of shows including Doctors, Holby City, A Touch of Cloth and Dancing on Ice.
Sleeping Beauty opens on Thursday 12 December and runs until Sunday 5 January.
