DECEMBER 12- JANUARY 19: Robin Hood And Babes In The Wood, Theatre Royal, Bath.

WHEN celebrities don hunting gear, fairy wands and lashings of make-up, it's either to save their fading career or launch the annual Bath pantomime season.

In this case it's the latter as Bath Spa Hotel played host to the stars of the Theatre Royal Christmas show, Robin Hood and Babes In The Wood, on Thursday.

Former Coronation Street star Clare McGlinn leaves alcoholic Charlie Ramsden well behind her with her role of Robin Hood, while The Bill's Colin Tarrant, fully recovered from the Sun Hill bomb blast, transforms into the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

Joined by three-times panto stalwart HTV's Jon Monie and Sarah Thomas, known for her role as the long-suffering Glenda in Last Of The Summer Wine, this year's feast of Christmas slapstick promises to be a fun-filled affair. Clare McGlinn said her nieces and nephews would get the biggest kick out of seeing her dressed up on stage.

She said: "Four of the most excited people I know are my nephews and nieces they can't wait to see me on stage.

"When I was on Coronation Street they would always ring up and say 'Auntie Clare your not hitting the bottle again are you'.

"Coronation Street created this opportunity for me that is one of the great things about being on the show."

Clare, who will star in a one-off edition of The Bill as a prostitute later this year, said she loves the prospect of living in Bath for the pantomime's five-week run.

"When my agent rang me about this show I knew I had to get in it.

"Bath is so friendly, it's a dream come true."

Sarah Thomas broke off from filming the latest series of Last Of The Summer Wine to attend the pantomime launch day.

She said: "I have never worked in Bath before but I have visited many times.

"At the moment we are finishing another series, I can't believe it has been running 30 years. We always have lots of fun on and off set.

"I think it's fantastic that pantomime still attracts the crowds, it is having a kind of revival at the moment."

HTV star Jon Monie, who fronted club show A Trip In The Cosmic Buddy and once interviewed Miss Piggy, has appeared in Bath's past two pantomimes.

Now living in Bath, he said the lure of pantomime proves too strong to resist.

He said: "I worry that I find the pantomime more exciting than the audience do. It's great living close to the theatre as you can be in the nearby pub by 10pm.

"I point all the other cast members in the right direction and become the unofficial Bath tour guide."

By Craig Evry