Alan Hughes has revealed his annoyance at the producers of the Toy Show: The Musical amid preparations for the panto.
The Virgin Media star and his husband Karl are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year hosting their panto, Sammy, Buffy & the Beanstalk.
The panto begins on December 12 in The National Stadium in Dublin.
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The Ireland AM star has opened up how much it costs to put on his show each year, after it emerged that the Toy Show: The Musical spent €1.3m on promotional spending, while RTÉ revealed it invested €2.7m in the flop.
Speaking to The Irish Mirror, Alan informed the publication that it costs himself and Karl €300,000 to put on the show, to which they receive no government supports.
He said: “The one thing I kept asking RTÉ and Dee Forbes was how much money I would need to spend as a producer on advertising.”
“Then it came out that it was €1.3m. If I was putting on a show in the 3Arena or Croke Park I wouldn’t have that type of budget.”
Picture Brian McEvoy
Alan previously claimed that the broadcaster had an unfair advantage in the panto marketplace because it had been able to advertise the musical on their channels for free.
However, Alan revealed that he is appreciative of the show’s “loyal fans”: “We have loyal fans who have been coming since we started in St. Anthony’s Hall. It is a struggle, but it is amazing that they keep coming back year after year.”
“It costs over €300,000 to put on the show, so it is a big investment, and it is just me and Karl every year.”
“We surround ourselves with a close team. If you were making investments like that and you couldn’t trust the team around you, you couldn’t do it.”
“That is why I was so annoyed with Toy Show: The Musical because we got no government help or support. In fairness, Minister Catherine Martin gave us grants in lockdown, but we don’t get arts funding. Panto is not seen as being an artform.”
This year’s panto will see stars Rob Murphy as Buffy, Johnny Ward as Baron Creepie Crawley, Una Healy as the Fairy Queen and Alan as the iconic Sammy Sausages.
