WHILE Prince Charming is usually the one to wake Sleeping Beauty there is an unsung hero in this year's Rhyl Pantomime that is the real reason the princess lives.

The good fairy, played by former HollyOaks star Sarah-Jane Buckley, said while her character can be a little ditsy at times she is the real reason Sleeping Beauty lives to tell her tale.

Buckley said: "She's (the good fairy) very good and has a heart of gold.

"She's like carabosse's opposite - she's fun, she's cheeky, quite dipsy and a bit scatty. But she gets the job done and she's the kind of thing that keeps all the good things happening.

"Otherwise sleeping beauty would pretty much be dead, and we don't want that. That would be a really early ending, so thank goodness for her."

Having been a part of HollyOaks for three years, she decided to take break and focus more on panto, and has now been a part of more than 20 productions.

Buckley said she loved pantomime's and had always been drawn to them and this year's was to be no different.

She said: "Its interactive, it's like no other thing, no other county does it, we are the only conutry that properly does panto.

"It's the only time that men dress up as women, women dress up as men and there's nothing weird about it, it's all fine.

"Kids get involved, kids get on stage, we have lots of shouting, lots of singing. I think it's the first time a lot of adults go to the theatre, sometimes it's the only time adults go to the theatre.

"So for me now, doing panto now because I just love doing it."

Audience members can expect a good mixed cast with Denbigh based Sean Jones providing some good slap stick, some great singing by Buckley, Amy Thompson (Sleeping Beauty) and Vicki Entwistle (Carabosse) and an accomplised dame, Charles Burden (Nanny Glucose).

Sleeping Beauty will run at the Rhyl Pavilion from December 13 to January 6 and tickets are on sale now at the theatre box office on 01745 330000 or online at http://www.rhylpavilion.co.uk.