THE first professional Christmas Panto to be staged at Consett's Empire Theatre has been hailed a success.

Jack and the Beanstalk, by Stage Further Productions, ran from Saturday, December 18, to Thursday, December 30, and sold more than 5,300 tickets.

The show featured TV actor Stefan Booth - who has starred in The Bill, William and Mary and Hollyoaks - in the lead role as Jack Trott, along with youngsters from the Jane Robson and Pauline Cook schools of dance.

Theatre bosses were delighted with the response to the show, which achieved seat occupancy of 67 per cent compared with a target of 60 per cent.

Of the total audience, 63 per cent came from within three miles - 3,339 people from Consett's population of 18,600.

Sue Fox, of Derwentside Leisure, said: "The first panto was a resounding success and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We look forward to putting on another one next year. Hopefully it will be bigger and better."

She added that 74 per cent of the audience were visiting the Empire for the first time and only 14 per cent had been to the venue three or more times.

A recent survey among visitors to the Empire gave an average rating of 8.9 out of a possible ten points.

"Many additional comments included a "well done to the council" for the refurbishment work and also a thank-you to the staff who won the praise of customers time and time again," said Ms Fox.