Panto star's home videos thank family for support

A London Palladium pantomime star's social media has gathered thousands of followers after showing their childhood videos.

Rob Madge from Coventry is currently starring in Sleeping Beauty alongside actors Catherine Tate, Nigel Havers and Julian Clary.

The My Son's A Queer author said they posted the videos to show audiences how supportive their family had been about their love for theatre, after being bullied for it as a child.

"My grandparents built me this most beautiful puppet theatre and they handmade and hand-sewed all of these gorgeous costumes for these puppets… and it was a big surprise for me," they told BBC CWR, describing the most popular video they posted.

In the video, the excitement on Madge's face is evident as they are led into a room with their family watching on.

The theatre was inside the family home, and was red and white striped with a red curtain and stars on the front.

"It's actually mine," Madge can be heard saying.

"It's got all the characters! There's even pockets here to put the puppets in!"

The video has amassed more than a million views on TikTok and more than 830,000 likes on Instagram.

Commenters include barrister Rob Rinder, US actress Jennifer Garner and journalist Stacey Dooley.

Other videos have amassed hundreds of thousands of views and likes, including clips showing Madge dressing up and belting out songs to the Mary Poppins soundtrack.

"I was always the different kid at school because I enjoyed theatre," they said.

"When the kids at lunchtime would go out and play rounders I'd stay in the classroom and recreate scenes from Rodgers and Hammerstein."

It was support from Madge's family that made home life feel like a "sanctuary".

"I felt so different and so out of the ordinary that when you're having hundreds of thousands of people tell you: 'This was like my family, I was like this growing up'.

"It's kind of healing because you feel less alone."

They said they initially started sharing videos of their family on social media in 2020, and it went on to form a stage show.

"We did a show about the videos all about my childhood called My Son's A Queer, which we took on tour and we did it in the West End," they said.

Appearing as the Diva of Dreams in Sleeping Beauty was a dream come true, they said.

"I used to go and watch it every year with my mum, dreaming that one day I'd get to be on there."

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