Panto performers visit hospital to spread cheer

Panto characters Ding Dong Mary Lee and Trixie Tinsel have been visiting residents and hospital patients in Wolverhampton

Pantomime performers have swapped the stage for a hospital to deliver Christmas cheer to patients and staff.

Dennis Ffrench and Rebecca Shepherd, from theatre group D&B Productions, decided to dress up last week to surprise a friend at West Park Rehabilitation Hospital, Wolverhampton.

Their visit received such a positive response that they were invited to return to the wards, bringing their alter egos along.

"We realise Christmas can be a tough time for a lot of people and just to have a conversation can be that big pick-me-up," Ms Shepherd said.

In addition to the hospital visits, the pair, from Wolverhampton and Burntwood, Staffordshire, have also been delivering gifts and parcels to vulnerable city residents and chatting to them at their homes.

Hospital staff said they loved having new visitors to the ward to bring festive cheer

Matron Emma Stewart said the hospital visits were "lifting people's spirits" and boosting patients' mental wellbeing.

It was something new, which made patients and staff "really excited", she added.

Matron Emma Stewart said a visit by the actors was "amazing" for the patients

Spencer Wood, a patient who has been recovering from a stroke for about two weeks, said that receiving a visit from the actors was a "real surprise" and suggested the hospital could benefit from similar initiatives in the future.

"It cheers you up when you're doing nothing all day, it takes your mind off things," he said.

Spencer Wood is recovering from a stroke and said the pantomime visitors "lifted" him up

Ajay Purewal, 63, who worked as an Uber driver before he had a stroke about six weeks ago, said a visit from the actors "lifted everyone's spirits" and gave patients a "cheery feeling".

"You're not spending Christmas at home [so] it brings a bit of joy to the whole ward," he said.

"I haven't really seen much of Christmas because I've been stuck in here but seeing someone coming in dressed up cheers you up."

Ajay Purewal said chatting to the actors cheered him up during the day