Entertainment
Vernon Kay admits new panto role is most challenging job of his career to date: ‘It’s a bloody good show’-Lucy Norris-Entertainment – Metro
Vernon’s knee deep in jazz hands.
Vernon Kay shared details on his upcoming panto debut at the British Heart Foundation awards (Picture: dfphotography.co.uk)
Vernon Kay revealed rehearsing for his pantomime debut has been the most ‘exciting yet challenging’ undertaking of his career to date.
The 48-year-old will make his debut in Cinderella at the Wycombe Swan this Christmas and admitted he wasn’t keen on the idea initially.
When offered the chance to play Dandini in the local production, Vernon rejected the thought of singing and dancing until he raised it with family members who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
The star explained that his daughters Phoebe Elizabeth, 18, and Amber Isabella, 13, who he shares with wife Tess Daly were the driving force behind his saying yes to tights and jazz hands in the Buckinghamshire venue.
On the British Heart Foundation Hero Awards red carpet, the presenter exclusively told Metro.co.uk that his family was to blame: ‘It’s their fault that I’m doing it.
‘The girls said “you have to do it dad”, so we’ve got several nights where we’ve got lots of school friends and school trips for the girls’ friends all coming in.’
Vernon Kay hosted the Heart Hero Awards for the fourth year in a row (Picture: Danny Fitzpatrick Photography)
The star tried his hand at singing on the reality show The Masked Singer (Picture: ITV / Twitter)
Chatting about the big debut, he excitedly shared details of how this Christmas period would be different for the Kay-Daly household: ‘I’m knee deep in learning lines, learning songs, jazz hands all that stuff but it’s probably one of if not the most exciting yet challenging things I’ve ever done.’
Vernon went on to applaud his favourite boyband of all time Take That for their ability to sing and dance at the same time – something the 6ft 4 broadcaster struggled with.
‘I doff my cap to Take That. They are my favourite boy band of all time and they sang – well some did – and danced a lot at the same time and it’s like how’d you do it?’
Vernon and his wife Tess share two daughters (Picture: Getty Images)
The presenter will perform in a local panto as advised by his children (Picture: BACKGRID)
Dancing plays a big part in Vernon’s family life as he spends most of the winter juggling parenting in the absence of his wife Tess as she focuses on hosting Strictly Come Dancing.
He said: ‘It’s been intense with me doing panto too but Strictly’s like our third child.
‘It comes and visits us around August and then it leaves us in December so we’re all used to it now.’
The famous face was at Glazier Hall to host the annual British Heart Foundation ceremony in partnership with Metro, for the fourth year running.
When asked how he came into contact with the charity that funds and supports research for cardiovascular disease, he shared it was his daughters’ love for charity shop fashion that introduced him to the foundation.
‘Our girls are into upscaling their fashion items and so we pass a lot of charity shops and you see the British Heart Foundation logo all over the place.
‘But I didn’t know what it was about until I did my first year with them and realised how important it is and how amazing the work they do is.
‘The British Heart Foundation makes people understand there are cures and things available for heart disease as it all seems so daunting.
‘Their support makes us feel like we’re wrapped in cotton wool’.
The British Heart Foundation Heart Hero Awards 2022
A BHF Heart Hero, with Metro.co.uk as its media partner this year, can be anyone from a healthcare professional doing exceptional work, to a young person living with heart disease that has shown incredible courage and determination, to an inspiring fundraiser who has found creative ways to help fund research.
This year’s winners were announced at an awards ceremony hosted by Vernon Kay at Glaziers Hall in London on the evening of Thursday, December 1.
Scottish footballer Scott Allan and TV and radio presenter Will Njobvu were among this year’s celebrity judges, and guest celebrities announced some of the winners.
The awards ceremony raises awareness of the continued need for funding for the pioneering research that is turning science fiction into reality, and providing hope for more than seven million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory conditions.
Although nominations for next year’s Heart Hero Awards will not open until early 2023, the Young Heart Hero and CPR Hero categories still remain open to nominations all year round.
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