24th December 2003

Mirror readers ballet treat

2,000 Mirror readers enjoy star-studded Royal Ballet premiere .. and have a ball.

By Damien Fletcher

It was a Christmas night to remember for 2,000 Mirror readers as they mingled with the stars at the Royal Opera House.

To mark 100 years of the Daily Mirror, the Royal Ballet offered our readers special tickets to the gala premiere of Cinderella last night.

They were able to enjoy a magical performance alongside celebrities such as Richard E Grant, Julia Sawalha, Kacey Ainsworth, Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley.

It was special too for Wayne Sleep, performing at the Royal Opera House for the first time since 1991.

He said: “The crowd was much more demonstrative than usual.”

Wayne, one of the Ugly Sisters, added: “They were doing pantomime boos when we came on.”

He said the night proved everyone could enjoy ballet: “You could hear a pin drop during the serious bits.”

Richard E Grant said the dancers were so athletic he felt guilty for eating so much at Christmas. “It really looks so incredible.”

Absolutely Fabulous star Julia said: “I haven’t been here since I was about eight years old and it was absolutely beautiful.” Channel 4 chatshow host Richard Madeley added: “When you see ballet on the television, it’s boring. But when you see a ballet for real, it’s so dynamic.”

Wife Judy said: “I cried twice. It was visually ravishing.” And it was not just Judy who was moved. Their 16-year-old daughter Chloe added: “It made me cry three or four times. It was beautiful.”

Kacey Ainsworth, who plays Little Mo in EastEnders, could not stop grinning. She said: “It was really lovely. The ending made you go ‘ah’.”

Readers, who took advantage of the special centenary tickets, were also thrilled with their night out.

Linda Keill, 61, said: “I travelled from Kent and it was worth it. I didn’t think I would be into ballet but I am now.”

Emelia Fisher, 15, who was with her mum Sue, said: “I am learning to dance ballet and I wanted to be up there.”

The Martin family travelled from Maidstone in Kent. Daughter Katherine said her first time at the ballet had been “amazing”.

She added: “The sets, the costumes, the dancers. It was like a fairytale.”

As the final curtain came down, it felt like we had all been privileged to go to the ball.