Gillian Parkhouse is Edinburgh King's panto princess of the practical joke

Watch out, Gillian Parkhouse is about. That's the whisper that goes around the King's Theatre whenever Edinburgh's favourite panto principal girl is in the building.

Gillian Parkhouse as Cinderella, behind the scenes at the King's panto

Cinderella, Goldilocks, Belle, Sleeping Beauty... the roles may change but one thing remains constant, Gillian's reputation as a practical joker. Allan Stewart, Andy Gray, Grant Stott and Jordan Young have all been on the receiving end of the 31-year-old's pranks, although she insists Allan did start it all, way back when she made her King's debut in 2017.

She recalls, "The very first time I worked with Allan, he came up to me at the press night party and said, 'Gillian, I've loved working with you. The show went so well tonight, do you mind if I have my photograph taken with you?'

"So I posed with him. Everyone crowded around, they were smiling and laughing... but more than they should have been. I was wondering what was going on. After the photo, Allan said, 'Look closer...' He had dropped his trousers, I'd posed for a photo with him in his pants. It's a prank he pulls on all the newbies and one he tries every year with me, but I always get my own back."

Gillian Parkhouse as Goldilocks

Two years ago, in Beauty and the Beast, her revenge involved three clothes of garlic.

"We were doing the Shirley Shaw tongue-twister scene with all my lines face to face with Allan, so much so that I took a swig of Listerine before I went of the stage to do it.

"One afternoon, near the end of the run, I replaced the swig of Listerine with three cloves of garlic. Now, Allan has a very strong sense of smell and when he realised he had a glint in his eye. A little side-smile that told me he could smell it and was trying to be as professional as possible but all the time he was edging away from me ever so slightly, an then his eyes started to water.

"At the end of the line I did an extra big breath, which made his eyes stream. Actually, the smell was so bad I could hardly stand it myself and Andy Pickering, our musical director in the orchestra pit, said later that he was looking around the audience, thinking someone had brought in a kebab.

"I spent my dinner break eating a bag of parsley and apples, apparently that's the cure for garlic breath. It was worth it though... but I won't be trying that one again."

On another occasion, Allan returned to his dressing room to find Gillian hanging in his wardrobe in one of his costumes. He doubled up laughing, but she got more than she bargained for when she turned her attention to Andy.

"During Cinderella, Andy would come up to visit his daughter Clare who was pregnant at the time and playing one of the ugly sisters. She'd call him on her mobile and he'd be up in 10 seconds flat.

"One day she dared me to see if I could fit into a big costume bag, so I did. She called here dad and said she needed him urgently. I could hear Andy coming along the corridor, he always whistles, and just as he got to the bag I sprang out, singing to him. He absolutely kacked himself, doubled over, and took a full three minutes to recover."

She laughs, "I think it was close call as to whether they asked me back the following year after that, and l've never tried it again."

In her defence, she adds, "We have 90 performances, so I like to do anything I can do to keep each day different."

Of course, this year there are no performances for Gillian, and the fact she is based in London where she lives with husband Ross means her usual family Christmas in Scotland is looking less and less likely.

"Normally, during panto we have 24 hours off at Christmas. My family is in Alloa so I'd get a train back home after the Christmas Eve show to spend Christmas day there - that's when my dad always makes his famous home-made ham and lentil Christmas soup."

The soup is part of a long-held festive family tradition that started when Gillian was a child.

"Because I come from such a big family, there were five kids and my mum and dad, on Christmas morning we'd line-up in order of oldest to youngest with our boxes, ready to get all our presents put in them. It's still a very similar situation only because we all now have partners and their kids, it's bigger than ever. The grandchildren all go in first and when the presents are all opened, there's not a sight of the floor, it is just covered in wrapping paper. Christmas Day has always been a really big deal for us."

This year it should have extra special, she reveals.

“If we get back, there won't be as many of us, it will be face masks with the party hats and gathering outside to make snow angels. It will be emotional as it will be the last time we celebrate Christmas in the family home I’ve been in since I was born as my parents are moving house in January.”

“The plan is to come up on the 23rd but at the moment it's looking a bit unlikely, even though I can smell my dad's soup already.

"We don't have a Plan B yet, which is worrying as I've never made a Christmas dinner, so there may well be a take-away on the menu, but the one thing I intend to do, no matter where I am, is watch the film White Christmas. I have never seen it and whenever I tell people, they are horrified, so I'll be watching that with my takeaway Christmas dinner."

Tomorrow: The baddest baddie, Grant Stott

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