When former EastEnders and The Bill star Scott Maslen performs in panto at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre this Christmas, he should feel right at home.

It will be the third time in as many years that the actor, 44, has appeared as baddie Abanazar in Aladdin and the second time in three years that his co-star has been variety legend Bobby Crush.

And that’s before we get to the town, which Scott knows well.

He told Vibe: “I was born in south east London so this is my old territory.

“I was born in Woolwich. I would say this is about 15 minutes away.

“My aunt used to live up here and I used to go to Marine cadets here and I used to spend a lot of time in Bromley, 30 years ago now.

“When you were from Woolwich, Bromley was a nice play to live – a bit green, some houses. I grew up on housing estates.

“It was lovely, I used to love coming to Bromley so to come back here to do panto is going to be interesting because I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of mates and people I haven’t seen in years that will probably come down and give me a heckle.”

Having spent five years as DS Phil Hunter on The Bill and then six on EastEnders’ Albert Square as Jack Branning, panto is quite different.

Scott said: “It was a bucket list thing, initially. I thought ‘before you can comment of things, have a go’. I must admit it was a very joyous experience.

“I had a lot of fun. When you’re doing kitchen sink soap or whatever, there are a lot of depressing stories and everything’s down. You go and do panto and everything is the complete opposite.

“It’s all about slapstick, fun, energy. You can’t sell yourself short with panto – it’s as big as you want it to be. You don’t get to do that very much. Actors love to let go occasionally.”

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And playing the bad guy is clearly part of the draw for Scott, who has had a busy year appearing on Celebrity Masterchef and also in US TV show The Royals opposite Elizabeth Hurley.

He said: “You want to be the villain. I wouldn’t want to be Aladdin, if I’m being honest. Aladdin’s lovely, it’s very sweet, but being a villain you get to say what everybody would want to say. The gloves are off.”

He added: “The beauty of panto is finding the kids happy and the adults. A lot of the time, the kids won’t get the jokes and it’s fun because the parents are having a laugh.

“The kids are having a laugh because you’ve got the slapstick.”

Scott stars in Aladdin at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, from November 27 to January 3. Go to atgtickets.com/Bromley or call 08448 717620.