Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette
Every Christmas gives us a little bit of a scheduling headache as people take time off, get ill or in the case of many of our presenters, undertake lots of extra DJing work for the holiday.
In addition we now regularly lose presenters to panto season too! Our regular Sunday afternoon presenter, ‘Allo ‘Allo! star Vicki Michelle is now starring as the Wicked Queen in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at the Grand Opera House in York.
Our Tuesday evening presenter Ben Simmons has been getting in on the panto act for many years too. Ben is also part of a father-and-son comedy act with his father, Keith.
2019 is a big year for the duo – they have written, and will be directing and appearing in Aladdin in Lytham St Annes this Christmas. This will be Keith’s 50th Pantomime! It will also be Ben’s 20th and their 15th together as a double act.
To commemorate their longevity, they have released a Christmas single this year celebrating the wonderful spectacle of Pantomime. All proceeds from downloads and streams will be donated to Dementia UK.
We’re playing it on Phoenix FM and you can also hear it on all download streaming services.
Keith and Ben came in to chat with Ian Leigh on Drive to talk about their careers, and then carried on the conversation on Ben’s own show, The Show That Goes Like This. You can hear both interviews again at phoenixfm.com.
More great guests coming up in the next seven days on Phoenix FM. Leyla Clayden from Saint Francis Hospice will be talking about Christmas tree recycling on The Breakfast Show with Mike Porter, and this week’s 98 Not Out is an umpiring special as Daren Mootoo and Brett Sanders chat to first-class umpire Neil Bainton and local umpires Gary Brown and Jordan McManus.
There will also be live music in the studio from Mark David, the Beedoos and Shannon D’Arcy.
