THE much-loved panto in Malvern will not take place this Christmas despite the theatre being ready to welcome audiences again.

The news means panto-lovers will have to wait until December 2021 to see Peter Pan in the Town.

A Malvern Theatres spokesman said: "It is with great regret that we announce that this year’s pantomime Peter Pan has been postponed for a year until Christmas 2021.

"The panto will now run from Thursday, December9, 2021 until Sunday, January 2, 2022."

Tickets for next year's panto will not be available until people with tickets for what would have been next year's panto have either transferred their tickets or had a full refund.

The spokesman added: "If you have received an email from us, please select one of the options to either transfer your tickets, have a full refund or have someone call you.

"If we don’t have an email for you, the Box Office will call you to either transfer or refund your tickets.

"We have a large number of customers to reach so please bear with us.

"Next year’s panto won’t go on sale until all 2020 ticketholders have been dealt with. Thank you for your patience."

Last week, it was announced Malvern Theatres will re-open its doors to visitors in the autumn.

This comes after months of uncertainty, during which it was feared the theatre might have to close down permanently after its income disappeared overnight when the UK went into lockdown.

When the theatre re-opens, measures will include face coverings and additional trained staff, who will be on hand to “observe and encourage compliance”.