Tinsel Town: Robbie Williams, Alice Eve, Ray Fearon, Katherine Ryan, Rebel Wilson, Matilda Firth and Ava Aashna Chopra at the London premiere

Is panto the lowest common denominator of entertainment? It could be. But that can be compliment as much as a cutting insult, as intended by one snobbish character in the new quintessentially British comedy Christmas movie from Sky, Tinsel Town. It’s true we’ve had festive movies aplenty from our isles, and ones with a firmly comedy slant at that, but have the idiosyncrasies of one of our least exported cultural mainstays ever been truly explored? Not until now. 

There’s a meta element to proceedings as our protagonist, Brad Mac, is played by American actor Kiefer Sutherland, who may or may not have discovered the concept of British pantomime for the first time himself on jumping on board with the project. Certainly, this is the first time we see the veteran 24 actor take on a comedic role, and it’s one is does with total abandon and unexpected skill.

The film follows the arrogant Brad as his erstwhile career as action hero implodes and his fed-up agent (an always reliably hilarious Katherine Ryan) carts him off to a theatre job in the UK…which, to his chagrin, turns out to be the role of Buttons in a local Northern panto of Cinderella. From there, much festive chaos and hilarity ensues, with an all-star ensemble bouncing off each other, including Rebel Wilson, donning a pitch-perfect (pun intended) Yorkshire accent, leading a genuinely brilliant staging of a xmas panto. Like all Yuletide movies worth their salt, beneath the cheesy one-liners and Christmas jingles are heartwarming messages of the importance of community, connection and fatherhood – as well as the beauty of local theatre in bringing people together.

The Upcoming were invited down to the UK premiere at Vue Leicester Square to hear from the cast and creatives. Wilson told us all about what she loves about panto, but what she loves less about the chilly British North where the movie was shot.

Ryan, with her trademark wit, spoke about how panto shouldn’t be overlooked as “low brow” and how she drew on her experiences of working with US agents for her character.

Alice Eve admitted she shared some of her character’s hesitations about panto but loved how it brings communities together, and told us some of her tricky moments on set, including being ridiculed for her running…

Ray Fearon spoke about how much he loves being in Christmas movies, this one being his fifth and the fun he had on set with his fellow cast.

Matilda Firth chatted about playing the daughter of Brad, where her character ended up being the more “adult” one in the relationship.

Producer Ava Aashna Chopra told us about wanting to make a new classic British Christmas movie and joy of seeing Sutherland in a comedic role.

We we also treated to a brief chat with iconic popstar Robbie Williams, who likened the Tinsel Town premiere to an extravagant school nativity, expressing pride and affection for his daughter taking on her first screen role.

Sarah Bradbury

Tinsel Town is released on Sky on 5^th December 2025.

Watch the trailer for Tinsel Town here: