THE winner of this year's Big Brother, Anthony Hutton, is to star in a pantomime, a North-East theatre has announced.

The 23-year-old from Consett, County Durham, has joined the cast of Darlington Civic Theatre's festive production Beauty and the Beast.

The former postman will take on the role of The Jester in the panto, alongside Darlington's Pop Idol, Zoe Birkett, as Belle.

The pair will be joined on stage by The Grumbleweeds as The Travelling Rogues.

Theatre spokeswoman Niki Burgham said: "It is fantastic news that Anthony has chosen to join our already great cast for this year's pantomime, especially after his success on Big Brother and just appearing on Sky television's The Match."

Beauty and the Beast opens on Friday, December 9 and runs to Sunday, January 22.

Evening performances start at 7pm and there will also be several matinees at 2pm and some weekend performances from 5.30pm.

Tickets cost from £10 to £18, with concessions available for group bookings.

To find out more, or to book seats, call the box office on (01325) 486555. Alternatively, log on to the website at www.darlingtonarts.co.uk