ANNE Nolan can’t wait for the curtain to rise next weekend on Snow White, this year’s family pantomime at Colne Muni.

For it marks her return to panto after a 10-year absence - and she gets the chance to be the baddie.

“Oh, I just love being the baddie,” said Anne, the eldest of the famous Nolan sisters who had a strong of chart hits in the early Eighties.

“I have been Snow White several times, in the past and I’ve played Cinderella, Robin Hood, Aladdin and even a fairy,” she said. “I loved being the princesses when I was younger, it’s great to have all the kids loving you but the Wicked Queen is just the best part.

“I know some people play a glamorous Wicked Queen or a funny Wicked Queen but I’m basing it on the Queen from the Disney film, so I’ll be dressed in black and I will be pretty evil,” she laughed.

“I have played the Wicked Queen quite a few times and a few of the theatres had a little crèche at the back for the little ones because they were scared so I’ve had to tone it down a little bit since then.

“But I do think children coming to a panto want to be frightened a little bit by the baddies. They will soon see through you if you are not bad enough. And also the goodie looks even better if the baddie is bad.”

Snow White will see East Lancashire’s own ‘Mr Panto’ George Critchley returning to the Muni for his 22nd consecutive year both as director and performer. But for the first time he will be playing the Dame in the show which runs until Sunday, January 21.

“George’s pantos are always really good,” said Anne. “They are genuine family pantomimes. He does it the traditional way which is how they should be done really.

Anne admits that this is a time of year she loves.

“I absolutely love everything about Christmas. It’s the best time of the year for me,” she said. “That’s really the reason I stopped doing pantomime in 1997 as I wanted to spend more time with my family as they were growing up. Before then I’d always been working over Christmas.

“But now they are grown up and have families of their own and I can’t wait to get back on the stage, particularly with the audience booing me all the time.”

With Anne heading back to the stage, is there a chance that she will be reunited with her sisters for a tour?

“We have talked about singing together again,” she said. “But we are all so busy. I don’t think we’d go out as a group with all the choreography and everything – we’re all a bit too old for that and we’d look silly.

“Also, I’m an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society which takes up a lot of my time.

“But I can’t wait to come to Colne - it has been a long time.”

Snow White, Colne Muni. Saturday, January 6 to Sunday, January 21. Details from 01282 661234 or www.themuni.co.uk