It's not yet Hallowe'en and already the countdown has started for the Christmas panto.

Oh yes it has!

The Sands Centre introduced the cast for this year's show, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, led by Carlisle lad Matt Pagan.

The Collabro star plays The Prince, with ex-Hollyoaks star Sarah George as Snow White and X-Factor and Celebrity Big Brother's Stevi Ritchie as Henchman.

This is the fourth panto for Matt - and the fourth time he has played The Prince.

His first-ever panto was at The Sands Centre in 2013 and he has since appeared in Newcastle and last year in Ipswich and said: "It is great to be performing in Carlisle. The audience at The Sands is always amazing and it is always fun."

Stevi Ritchie is a big fan of the shows and can't remember if this will be his 14th or 15th.

He appeared alongside Matt in the show in Ipswich last year and said: "I love them , every year it is fun.

"Even when things go wrong it is a laugh!"

He found national fame on X-Factor in 2014 when he came 6th out of 16 acts and was the last wildcard left who had mentored by Simon Cowell.

Since then, he has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Who's Doing the Dishes and Loose Women among other shows.

Snow White will be the first-ever panto appearance by Sarah George who is best known as Celine McQueen in Hollyoaks and was nominated for Best Soap Newcomer in the 2015 TV Choice Awards.

She said: "My Nana used to take me to the panto every year in Sheffield, I used to love it when they threw sweets and pastries out into the audience.

"I would do little shows in in our living room when I was little. I just like to make people laugh and to entertain people."

Also appearing is CFM Radio's Robbie Dee as Dame Dotty, Dean Winters as Muddles and international movie star Jimmy Vee, who has played R2D2 in Star Wars as the leader of the Seven Dwarfs.

The show is produced by Enchanted Entertainment and is the biggest panto in Cumbria and runs from December 11-31. For tickets, go to www.thesandscentre.co.uk or call 01228 633766.