We are all deeply saddened by the loss of theatre producer Paul Elliott. The impact his passion and commitment had on the industry will continue to be felt for years to come.

Paul produced many pantomimes at the Hippodrome, shaping our annual tradition loved by so many.

Former Director of Birmingham Hippodrome Peter Tod shares his memories of Paul:

“Paul’s very first pantomime was Goldilocks and the Three Bears at The New Theatre Hull in 1968 staring Ronnie Hilton and George Lacy, where I was just starting out my own career. His pantomime influence was to grow enormously and throughout the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Paul was very much the profession’s and the nation’s ‘King of Pantomime’, ultimately creating 482 pantomimes, alongside producing theatre in London, across the UK and worldwide.

For much of that period, there were no big pantomimes in London, which was to Birmingham’s advantage, in that Paul was able to persuade the country’s biggest stars to play the Hippodrome, including Russ Abbot, Cannon & Ball, Des O’Connor, Brian Conley, Lesley Joseph, Su Pollard, Gary Wilmot and Mathew Kelly, all leading celebrity casts in pantos Paul directed.

In earlier years, Paul produced pantomimes at The Alexandra Theatre with Les Dawson, John Nettles, Bernie Winters and Larry Grayson. For the 1988/9 Christmas season Paul produced both Snow White at The Alexandra Theatre and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hippodrome. Paul’s pantomime commitment for many years would often start in Aberdeen in early November, and after driving thousands of miles up and down the motorways, his Volvo would come to a halt outside the stage door in Thorp Street, in time for him to direct the Hippodrome pantomime.

In 2010 Paul first employed a young Matt Slack in the comedy Hot Flush with Lesley Joseph, and such was the production’s success that they went on to play three national tours over the next five years. Now Matt Slack is very much Birmingham’s own ‘King of Pantomime’ after eleven record breaking seasons at the Hippodrome. Paul gave audiences at the Hippodrome and The Alexandra Theatre thousands of memorable performances and brought to the city’s stages literally the ‘Who’s Who’ of British Theatre. Paul always enjoyed working with the stage crew at the Hippodrome, and during the late 90s he took over the management of The Alexandra Theatre for a time. Paul worked closely on sponsorship with Cadbury for many years, creating Cadbury’s Pantomime Seasons nationally, raising significant money for the Save The Children Fund.

Paul was in love with theatre for over 60 years, first as an actor and then as a prolific producer creating theatre worldwide. In his very personal autobiography, Keeping My Balls In The Air (published in 2018) the lists of his stage productions and involvement in creating theatre and co-producing is quite staggering, in all, a total of 1,040 shows.

Down the many years, Paul’s productions have given theatregoers so much pleasure and laughter, as did his friendships with theatre managements and artists alike. After I left the Hippodrome our friendship continued, and only a few months ago I lunched with him, reminiscing over our long association, deals, incidents, and what he always referred to as the ‘Snakes and Ladders’ of theatre business. London will always be the centre, but no one has contributed more in recent generations to British theatre outside London than Paul did.”

Michael Harrison, Chief Executive of Crossroads Pantomimes added:

“The Birmingham Hippodrome pantomime as we know it today was created by the ‘King of Panto’, Paul Elliott, in 1988. He established the Hippodrome’s annual festive extravaganza as the biggest, starriest and most spectacular pantomime in Britain. These shows were the envy of theatres across the country, and Paul took enormous pride in making Birmingham the pantomime capital of the land.He was a rare pantomime producer who could write them and direct them as brilliantly as he could deliver the business side of contracts, theatre negotiations and star deals.Pantomime today is informed by what Paul created. In recent years, he enjoyed visiting Birmingham and seeing my shows with artists he loved and admired, particularly Matt Slack and Paul’s long-time friend and collaborator, Lesley Joseph.As Robin Hood comes to a close this weekend, we will all pay tribute to the man who started it all and who will forever be in our great big Birmingham pantomime heart.”

Matt Slack, Hippodrome panto star of the last 12 years said: “Paul Elliot paved the way for so many of us. Without him, pantomime simply wouldn’t be what it is today.”