Is there life after showbiz? Oh no, it isn't. Oh yes, it is...

In a theatre somewhere near you, an ex-pop singer, sitcom actor or television quiz show host is preparing to slap his thigh in pantomime. Guy Adams picks 10 favourite (somewhat faded) faces

Gary Wilmot

Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan', Guildhall Theatre, Derby

To a generation of Eighties schoolchildren, Wilmot was the smiling face of happy-clappy kids' TV - a sort of male Floella Benjamin. In 1989, he found a higher calling: his West End debut in a production of Me and My Girl launched a career as a singer and musical actor that has continued, to some acclaim, to this day. Wilmot's most recent turn was in Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang, where he relieved Brian Conley playing the inventor Caractacus Potts.

In this, his 14th year of panto, he'll play Captain Hook, his first time out as a "baddie."

It's been a topsy-turvy year for Gary. He was due to headline a new musical called Personals, by the creators of Friends. But it was pulled just two weeks before curtain-up, due to poor ticket sales.

Bobby Davro

Smee in 'Peter Pan', New Wimbledon Theatre

Bobby, real name Robert Nankeville, is unofficial heavyweight champion of the British panto circuit. The comedian, whose TV career peaked in the early Nineties, spends much of the year earning a crust on the corporate circuit. But come December, he's famed for his ability to sell out theatres. Davro is signed to Family First Entertainment, the biggest panto producer in the UK, and has an important cameo in their multi-million pound showpiece production: Peter Pan at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Despite his reputation as a pro, Davro's ten-year panto career suffered a setback in 2003, when he broke down in tears during a matinee performance of Cinderella at Nottingham's Theatre Royal.

Witnesses reported that he emerged on stage shouting: "How are you, kids?" only to begin sobbing when the sell-out crowd roared back. It later emerged that his wife, Trudi, had recently run off with another man.

Patrick Duffy

Baron Hardup in 'Cinderella', New Theatre, Woking

You may remember Duffy's glory days, as the Stetson-wearing Bobby Ewing, younger brother to Larry Hagman's JR on Dallas. Twenty years on, the jobbing American TV actor has flown in to sunny Woking to play Baron Hardup in Cinderella. The silver-haired Duffy insists that a turn in pantomime will not require him to sacrifice any artistic integrity. "I got asked to do this, and I had to investigate what panto was," he revealed. "I had no idea. When I was told it was a fairytale, I didn't know if that was the proper next step in my career. Then I found out the context in which it is done, and the history around it, and the sort of maniacal attraction it has. It's not like doing your local version of The Nutcracker. It's serious."

Henry Winkler

Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan', New Wimbledon Theatre

"Heyyyyy!" Look out, ladies: Henry Winkler - best known as "The Fonz," from Happy Days - is making his panto debut. And with a bit of luck, he'll be inviting you to step into his office. He was drafted-into Peter Pan as a last minute replacement for David Hasselhoff, who quit the show in order to salvage what remains of his professional dignity as a judge on Simon Cowell's US version of The X Factor. Winkler clearly intends to take the role of Captain Hook seriously. "Hook is a bad guy, but I truly believe he's misunderstood," one interviewer was earnestly told. "I mean, you have your hand eaten by a crocodile, that's got to create some anger and resentment. I think he has redeeming qualities. He's very dashing. He's a good leader. He doesn't delegate well, but he's a good leader" Splendidly, a glance at the forthcoming show's programme reveals that Winkler, 61, retains his trademark quiff.

Adam Rickitt

Prince Charming in 'Cinderella', Theatre Royal, Norwich

In years to come, the former Coronation Street star and boy-band member would like to become a Tory MP. For the time being, though, he's got to pay the bills. Hence the decision to travel to the home town of Alan Partridge, where he'll play Prince Charming.

When the booking was announced in July, Rickitt - one of David Cameron's A-List candidates - was widely lampooned. With reference to his political career, one columnist suggested that the audience at the Theatre Royal will no doubt shout: "It's behind you!" Rickitt disagrees. "I'm not actually doing a traditional panto," he said. "This will be what you'd call a Christmas show, like what Ian McKellen has done at the Old Vic."

Bradley Walsh

Buttons in 'Cinderella', Milton Keynes Theatre

Walsh, a professional footballer at Brentford FC, hit the big-time in 1994 when he was plucked from obscurity to present the National Lottery draw. He achieved further prominence as host of the game-show Wheel of Fortune (catchphrase: "What's in Brad's box?") before a succession of acting jobs culminated in the part of factory boss Danny Baldwin in Coronation Street. A panto veteran (his first appearance was alongside Britt Ekland and Kriss Akabusi in 1998), he is the headline star in Cinderella in Milton Keynes, alongside EastEnders actress Kacey Ainsworth. Walsh hopes to leave the world of soap opera behind him in the New Year, however. Two months ago, he quit Corrie amid a blizzard of tabloid reports concerning his close relationship with co-star Debra Stephenson.

Nigel Havers

Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan', The Swan, High Wycombe

Legendary smoothie Nigel Havers boasts a distinguished cv. He's worked with John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Hopkins, and has adorned the red carpet at many an Oscar ceremony. This year, he's taken his first-ever pantomime role, too: Captain Hook. Not that this marks an artistic fall from grace, you understand. "Peter Pan is of course a beloved story and the chance to play Captain Hook was irresistible," he says. "I mean, panto is the new, stylish, chic thing to do." Despite his famously elegant mane, Havers, 56, will don a curly wig for the show, which looks like being one of the poshest pantos in history. Apparently, he intends to portray Hook as: "something of a cross between Horatio Nelson and Prince Charles."

Shaun Williamson

King Rat in 'Dick Whittington', Playhouse, Weston-Super-Mare

Shaun Williamson is a man of many parts. His official internet site describes a 21st-century Renaissance man. "Shaun is a versatile and accomplished stand-up comedian, singer, television and stage/screen actor, presenter, entertainer, cabaret performer, and after dinner speaker," it trumpets, breathlessly. "His ambition is to continue to act both in comedy and serious drama on TV and stage and to continue to sing professionally."

What better outlet for Williamson's talents, then, then, than the role of King Rat in Dick Whittington? It's currently being staged at that hotbed of British show-business, Weston-Super-Mare.

Real life imitates art for Shaun, who sends himself up in the Ricky Gervais show Extras as a struggling actor who used to play Barry in EastEnders.

Julian Clary

The Spirit of the Bells in 'Dick Whittington', Derngate, Northampton

Guess what? Julian Clary's doing panto, and his character's going to have a rude-sounding name. The camp comedian hopes for a good reception from the people of Northampton when he takes to the stage as The Spirit of the Bells. "I like to have a warm hand on my entrance," he says. You get the feeling that the rest of the show will continue in this vein: Clary has become a regular on the pantomime circuit thanks to his ability to tickle the funny bone of grown-ups, without offending their offspring. "I once said I didn't want to do panto for many years, but actually it suits me very well because it's a big glamorous show," he says. "You dress up, you overact and you mess around."

Michael Barrymore

Scrooge in 'Scrooge: The Musical' (On Tour)

Awight, Awight! The walking car crash that is Michael Barrymore is currently touring in the lead role of Scrooge: The Musical. Wind the clock back 10 years, and a happily married Baz rode the crest of a show-business wave. Millions watched his primetime light entertainment shows, and still more bought Daz washing powder on the back of his TV adverts. Then he began to suffer from alcohol problems, and in 1995 left his wife and manager, Cheryl, announcing that he was gay. In 2001, with his career on the wane, Barrymore was thrust back on to the front pages in the most hostile of circumstances, after the dead body of Stuart Lubbock was found in the swimming pool of his Essex home. Barrymore emigrated to New Zealand before attempting a tearful comeback on the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother. The current run in Scrooge marks the latest of many subsequent efforts to rebuild his career.