AUDIENCES across Carlisle and Cumbria will be transported to the wonderful world of Oz this December.

And the Sands Centre in Carlisle will be welcoming an all-star cast, with two stars of Britain’s Got Talent, a Eurovision songstress, plus a CFM stalwart to front this year’s pantomime, The Wizard Of Oz.

The production, which will run from December 10 to 31, will see Ashleigh Butler - who won Britain’s Got Talent in 2012 with her dog Pudsey - perform the role of Dorothy, but with her Crufts Agility Champion dog, Sully, taking on the role of Toto.

She will be joined on stage by Carlisle-born singer and actress Nicki French, best known for her dance track Total Eclipse of the Heart, which topped the charts around the world in 1995.

No stranger to the music stage, Nicki represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000, with her track Don’t Play that Song Again.

Nicki is hoping to put her acting talents to the test year, bringing misery to the stage as The Wicked Witch of the West.

Another star of Britain’s Got Talent, Andrew Flemming, returns for his third pantomime in Carlisle - this time taking on the role as the tin man. The mimic wowed the judges and TV audiences in 2015, bagging a place in the semi-final.

Rounding off the all-star cast, Ashleigh, Sully, Nicki and Andrew will be joined by CFM Breakfast presenter Robbie Dee, who returns to the Sands’ Christmas Panto for his 17th year, this time in the character of the Scarecrow.

The group will be joined by Jack Thomas as Dame Glinda and Daniel Millar as the Cowardly Lion.

Preparing to don her ruby red slippers in a matter of weeks, Ashleigh told the News & Star: “Sully is very cheeky - he loves to show off, loves the stage and people cheering for him.

“We both are going to have great fun in Carlisle. There’s going to be so much fun, laughter, signing, plus a dancing dog - as not many panto’s have dancing dogs in them.”

Speaking about the 36 upcoming pantomime performances, producer Jez Weatherall said: “This year’s panto is going to be great fun for all the family, everyone remembers such wonderful characters as the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man who needs a heart.

“This production will take the original book written by L. Frank Baum and give it a new panto-style twist for the Sands’ Christmas Show - including lots of audience participation and modern pop songs.

“Audiences are also in for a real treat, with the return of hilarious impressionist Andrew Fleming, who previously appeared in the Sands Centre pantomime Peter Pan in 2014,” said Jez.

And he hopes audiences will be blown away by this year’s all-star cast.

He added: “We have some first-class signing talent in this year’s panto with 90’s pop icon Nicki French as the Wicked Witch of the West and Jack Thomas as Dame Glinda, who are both sensational vocalists.”

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz are on sale now, call the Box Office on 01228 633766 or book at www.thesandscentre.co.uk