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Monifieth actor faces off against Vernon Kay and two-time Grammy nominee for national panto award

Finlay McKillop has been nominated in the Best Newcomer to Pantomime category against the television host and Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Finlay is up against Vernon Kay and Carrie Hope Fletcher for the award. Image: ANGUSalive, Kenny Elrick, Kieron McCarron/Shutterstock
Finlay is up against Vernon Kay and Carrie Hope Fletcher for the award. Image: ANGUSalive, Kenny Elrick, Kieron McCarron/Shutterstock

An actor from Monifieth has been nominated for a national panto award alongside TV host Vernon Kay and two-time Grammy nominee Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Finlay McKillop has been nominated in the Best Newcomer to Pantomime category at the awards ceremony, set to be held at London’s Trafalgar Theatre next month.

The 24-year-old is in the running for the award following his performance as Puss in Boots in December’s performance of Rapunzel at Arbroath’s Webster Memorial Theatre.

Finlay said: “I’m absolutely honoured to have been nominated for my performance.

“I was so happy to have got the role. I used to always go to the Arbroath panto when I was younger with my family.

“I’m now based in London so it was a great opportunity to come back home and spend Christmas with my mum.”

‘Crazy’ to be up against established acts

Finlay faces stiff competition for the award, going up against former Family Fortunes host Kay and Hope Fletcher, a two-time Grammy award nominee.

He said: “It’s crazy to be up against such established names.

“I used to watch Vernon Kay all the time on TV when I was younger.

“I’ve seen Carrie perform a number of times at the West End. She was fantastic in Les Misérables, Cinderella and Heathers.

“She also has a YouTube channel that I used to watch during my studies.”

Performing back home

Since graduating from the Emil Dale Academy in 2021, Finlay has returned south where he is currently auditioning for roles.

He does return north on regular occasions, where he performs at residential homes in the area.

He said: “I’m definitely going to keep that up. I actually studied Alzheimer’s in Music during my time at Emil Dale.

“I started performing at care homes during lockdown and I love doing it.”

Finlay McKillop has been nominated for a national panto award.
Finlay McKillop will be attending next month’s panto awards with his mum and girlfriend. Image: Finlay McKillop

Finlay has got tickets for April’s ceremony, to be hosted by Christopher Biggins, sorted for his mum and girlfriend.

His future after the event remains unclear.

He said: “I’d love to come back and perform in Arbroath again this year.

“With the nomination my agent thinks I’ll have the opportunity to perform in larger scaled shows down south. You never know though!”

Delight from those back home

Scott McCruvie, theatre and venues team leader at ANGUSalive said: “We are ecstatic to learn that Finlay has received this nomination.

“Finlay was magnificent in his performance. To hear that he has been nominated for it is just the icing on the cake for him and our team who worked incredibly hard over the festive period to deliver a brilliant panto that had been sorely missed due to the pandemic.”

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