Steven Blakeley is performing in Cinderella at Theatre Royal Windsor, having performed in their pantomimes since 2009, playing the Dame as well as writing and directing the show, and he is in the cast with his fellow Theatre Royal Windsor regular Martin Cabble-Reid (aka Kevin Cruise) as Buttons, Brogan McFarlane as Cinderella, Jay Worley as Prince Charming and Michael Praed as Baron Hard-up, and Cinderella is running until Sunday 11th January 2026. As a screen actor, Steven most recently played guest character Mr Foyle in All Creatures Great and Small, and he appeared across four series of popular police drama Heartbeat as PC Geoff Younger. On stage, Steven has played Comrade Staggles in The Roundabout at Park Theatre in 2016, and transferred with the show to New York the following year, and he played Robert in Boeing-Boeing at The Mill at Sonning. We chatted to Steven about playing the Dame in and being the writer and director of Cinderella at Theatre Royal Windsor, having a guest role as Mr Foyle in All Creatures Great and Small, his time as PC Geoff Younger in Heartbeat and being in the cast of The Roundabout.

Since 2009, you have been performing in Theatre Royal Windsor’s annual pantomime; how does it feel to be returning for another season this Christmas and what is the theatre like to perform at?

This is my 17th year at the Theatre Royal Windsor. It is nice to come back because of the family feel that the theatre’s got. There is the same core team of people that work together each year, and it is nice to come back and see the audiences, who have been increasingly supportive of us over the years and keep coming out to see us. Panto is a fun thing to do over Christmas time.

How is it getting into costume as the Dame and what can audiences expect from your portrayal?

I find the costume changes one of the most challenging aspects of the job, it’s the most tiring part. I think I have about 10 costume changes per show this year. But they are brilliant costumes this year and they get a nice reaction from the audience: each time we step out in a different costume, people seem to like them. But all the quick changes are very exhausting. Going on stage and actually doing the lines is the easy bit, it is the stuff backstage that isn’t so easy.

How do you find the experience interacting with the audience and seeing families getting involved?

It is very nice. Panto is a unique genre from that point of view, and you have audience interaction in a way that they don’t get to interact with any other style of theatre. The response is very immediate and it’s nice to be open to that as well. Obviously, things sometimes go wrong, and people shout things out that you don’t necessarily expect, so I enjoy the challenge of thinking on my feet and being able to respond to that.

As pantomime writer/director, what are the scripts like to write and what do you feel makes a good family pantomime?

My writing is very much rooted in tradition. I write a very traditional pantomime, with as many modern twists and references as we can get in. But I think that I am a defender of tradition when it comes to pantomime, and I think that’s what the audience expects to see here every year and so that’s why I stay on the side of tradition.

Why would you recommend booking tickets to see Cinderella at Theatre Royal Windsor, which is running until Sunday 11th January 2026?

Because it is the best panto in the land!

As a screen actor, you’ve most recently been seen playing the guest character Mr Foyle in All Creatures Great and Small, what was it like to film?

I enjoyed filming All Creatures Great and Small. It’s a lovely period piece and very well-made and produced. The cast were very nice, the scripts were very good, and so I enjoyed it.

What are some of your favourite memories from playing PC Geoff Younger across four series of Heartbeat, and is there anything you miss most about filming the show?

My happiest memories are all to do with learning from the older members of the cast. Derek Fowlds once said to me, “this isn’t a bad apprenticeship for you”.  He used to call me Stevie Boy, and he was right; it was a fantastic apprenticeship. I was not long out of drama school and to have the opportunity to learn in that kind of setting, with those kinds of people, so early on in my career really was the best training I could have ever had. It was a great show to be involved in and it’s still as popular today as it was when we were making it all those years ago.

Do you remember how you felt joining the cast of Heartbeat in Series 14 and how was it developing the character over the years?

I was very nervous to join, because it was such an established show.  But I was made to feel very welcome. We were expected to be very disciplined and to know our lines, so that could be a bit nerve-racking sometimes. I was just deeply honoured to be part of that institution.

You played Comrade Staggles in The Roundabout at Park Theatre in 2016, what was the show like to perform in and how was it transferring with the production the following year to New York?

It was great. The Roundabout is one of J. B. Priestley’s lesser-known plays, in fact, I don’t think it had been produced professionally since the 1930s, and so it was nice to be a part of a play where people didn’t know what to expect of it. We had a very successful run in London, and then transferring to New York with it was a dream come true. I’d always wanted to go and work in theatre in New York, and I achieved an ambition with that, and it was great living in New York for a couple of months.

What was it like taking on the role of Robert in Boeing-Boeing at The Mill at Sonning?

I liked working at The Mill at Sonning, it is a unique theatre, not too far from here. Robert in Boeing-Boeing is a brilliant comedy role, and I had been wanting a comedy role for several years when that came along. It gave me the opportunity to use all the comedy skills that I had picked up over the years and perform in a nice theatre, in a very nice setting.

Where does your love of acting, writing and directing come from and how did you originally get started in the industry?

I don’t know where it comes from and there is nobody else in my family who does it. I come from a typical working-class background. The idea of going to drama school and being an actor really was completely out there really, it was a very strange thing for me to opt to do.

I got involved with a local community theatre at the Derby Playhouse, as it was then, when I was a teenager and that really sparked my ambition and my desire to do it professionally. I was very well-supported by a director there called Pete Meakin, who said I should think about going to drama school. He supported me, along with my family, and I went to drama school at the age of 18, which was quite young.

I was offered places at three drama schools, and I opted to go to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, which is now known as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I did the three-year classical acting course, I was classically trained, and I went from there. I got an agent at the end of it and started working pretty much within a few weeks of leaving drama school, which was great, and I had a fantastic run of jobs. Then not long after, I went into Heartbeat. I only went to do six episodes of Heartbeat originally, but ended up staying for four series, so that was very good.

What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch and how do you like to spend your free time?

I don’t get to see much theatre, but I do go and see other pantos when I have time: especially if there are any still running close to where I live after we finish our run in Windsor.

I like to watch films; I go to the cinema and watch Netflix. Being up to date on the latest trends also helps when I’m writing the panto script.