Niki Colwell Evans made a name for herself when she reached the semi-final of The X Factor in 2007. Since then, she’s become a musical theatre powerhouse, starring in Blood Brothers, Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde. She’s returning to Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre this Christmas to play the ever-so-evil Queen Dragonella. What’s On caught up with her for a pre-panto chat... 

You’ve often played ‘goodie’ characters. Do you enjoy playing the ‘baddie’?

I’ve been the baddie - this will be my fourth time. I think everybody likes playing the baddie, but today I forgot that I was - and what I looked like! I was on the back of a train in Dudley Zoo. I thought, “Ooh, yeah - I’ve got horns on my head, I’m the evil one!” It’s fun!

Are you modelling your panto character of Dragonella on any real-life baddies?

I don’t really know any real-life baddies. Well, I do - but they’d have to be male! I’m channelling some nasty man. My voice might go down…

What makes the Grand so special to you personally?

The Grand is my go-to theatre. If I’m going to watch anything, I’ll go to the Grand. It’s just the most stunningly beautiful theatre; it’s got so much history, and it’s nostalgic. I played my very first panto there - 2008, I think it was; Cinderella - and I played the Fairy Godmother. It’s just like coming home, and it always feels like Christmas. I get that ‘Christmassy butterflies’ feeling at the Grand, whether I’m doing Kinky Boots, playing Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers or doing Legally Blonde... And today I’ve caught up with everybody’s kids! 

Obviously you’re not on stage on Christmas Day. What have you got planned for the day itself?

I normally cook Christmas dinner, running back and forth from panto. This year I’m at home. I live in a small village, and I normally go to Midnight Mass. I can’t wait not to have to rush to get to Midnight Mass, to rush home, to get the kids, to do this, to do that… I’ve booked a meal at 3 o’clock. It’s going to be really weird - it’s just me and my husband this year. Instead of fretting about cooking dinner - I’m a vegetarian, so he has to eat a lot of turkey! - I thought we’d just go and have a nice meal out this Christmas. 

You’re used to long theatre runs and tours. What do you do differently for panto?

The difference with panto is it’s a short, sharp shock to the system. Your body gets used to doing the same thing every day. With panto it’s so quick, you’ve got to be on it - there’s a whole story to do in half the time of a musical, and you’ve got to entertain the kids, and they want to scream at you, which is completely different to being on tour. 

You get different audiences. You get the kids in the daytime, who just want to scream and go ‘Booo!’ - I can’t wait to be booed; I love it! - and then the adults of an evening, who get the ‘older’ humour. Sometimes you wait for a laugh that doesn’t come - which can be quite embarrassing. It’s something new every day. And the cast! Because I’ve been away, it’s kind of the first time I’ve met them all today. I do a lot of shows with Tam Ryan [who’s playing Muddles], and that’s going to go badly, because I just can’t stop laughing at him. I’ll be playing a baddie that just wants to laugh all the time! 

Do you have a pre-show routine?

I’ve got one of the biggest voices you’ve probably ever heard, and I have to use it all the time - I don’t want my voice to decline. You tend to get into a routine - not knowing that you’re doing the same routine - and if it slightly changes, you start to panic... I’ll come in quite early, then I’ll do a half an hour of vocal warm-up, and then - I don’t know how I got into this because I’m not very healthy! - I always have to have fresh ginger and lemon; I have to have that before I go on stage. And I like to chill a little bit. 

You’re an experienced panto performer - you must have some stories to tell! What’s your biggest mishap?

Somebody last night who came to see Blood Brothers in Brighton said, “I remember you in the Grand doing Cinderella. It was the night you broke your leg!” That was pain. I came down the stairs to do my lovely curtsey, and I thought something had gone wrong, but I was in shock. I curtseyed and I just went over like a Weeble... And I thought, “Ooooh that really hurts!” Jeanette Crankie jumped over me to do her bow and then one of the dancers, Peter Houston, who was just lovely, dragged me off. And then the company manager just went “Ugh!” cos my foot was swinging. I couldn’t see because of the dress!

Two days after that, I was back on, with my cast, flying through the air! Once I’d got the cast on, it was fine, so I finished the run in the cast. There were a lot of jokes about that. The worst thing is, I had to speak to the kids over the airwaves because they were so upset that the Fairy Godmother had hurt herself. How sweet is that?! 

People come back to see panto year after year. What do you think is the appeal?

I think it’s a release, it’s a family thing, and it’s hopefully a chance for people to get away from their normal lives and have a laugh for an hour and a half; to get with like-minded people who love Christmas and love to have a giggle. You get the kids in the morning, who are so excited; it’s going to be really hard for me not to get excited with them this year.

Christmas for a lot of people is a scary time. I've had Christmases in the past, when the kids were little, thinking: “Where am I gonna get it from? What am I going to do?’ Hopefully it gives a bit of respite for the adults, watching their kids' faces, seeing something that’s live rather than on a tablet. There’s nothing that compares to it. That’s what really gets me: watching the youngsters and seeing how excited they get.

Niki stars as Queen Dragonella in Snow White at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until Sunday 7 January