Producer of The Olympia Theatre panto, Stuart O’Connor, has revealed that he would love to have Al Porter return to the stage.
The comedian was accused of sexual misconduct last year, which led to him quitting his Today FM show, and walking away from his role in last year’s Olympia panto, Polly and the Beanstalk.
Before the allegations came to light, the 24-year-old had been a regular in the Olympia’s Christmas panto, and worked closely with Stuart.
Speaking to Independent.ie, the producer said: “Al was part of the Olympia family for a long time and hopefully at some stage will be back.”
“In one sense you go, ‘things happen and you need to just rise over it and get on with it and do it’. I suppose that’s where the job of being a producer really comes in.”
Following Al’s departure, former Mrs Brown’s Boys star Rory Cowan stepped in to replace him.
Stuart said the experience was “horrendously upsetting for everybody” but he had to “step up to the plate as a producer and ride through the storm”.
“The fact we had such a good team around us, they all stepped up, and they were all very fond of Al so they wanted to make sure [the panto] worked and continued into the future,” he explained.
As for Al returning to the stage, Stuart added, “With a bit of luck and if things pan out the way we all hope they will we would love to have him back. His first love is the Olympia panto. There’s no doubt about it. It really is.”
“He grew up there and so his first love is the Olympia Panto and he’s very much part of the family even though he’s not around, he’s not there. He’s very much in our thoughts all the time.”
This year’s Olympia panto, Polly and the Magic Lamp, will once again star Rory Cowan, alongside new additions Jake Carter, Erin McGregor, and James Patrice.Â
