As a child, Stephen Mulhern was the youngest member of the magic circle and his enduring trick of turning family shows into hits which has made him into one of the nation’s premier presenters and a perennial pantomime favourite.

He really loves the chance to get on stage at Christmas and this year he’ll be doing it in Cinderella at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls.

Stephen, 38, told Vibe: “It has got to be funny for the adults and unusual for the kids. It’s got to cover everything and that’s why I love it.

“The reason I do it is because I love it. Otherwise I genuinely wouldn’t do it. Everyone has a good time and I genuinely enjoy it.

He added: “I’ve never told anyone this, and I don’t know why, but during the interval what I’ve started doing is over the past couple of years – which sounds really bizarre – is I put a cap on and I go out and I stand amongst the audience and I listen to them.

“Do you know what, you walk back stage (afterwards) and you go: ‘That’s why do it’, because this audience just love it.”

This Christmas, Stephen will play Buttons and it’s a role he’s familiar with. He’s even played the character in Croydon before, in 2010, and got rave reviews from our reviewer who wrote: “Stephen played such a strong part in making this traditional festive treat a success that the panto should have been called Buttons.”

Naturally, Stephen will be trying to top that this time.

He said: “Buttons is by far – I dare any performer to say it’s not – the best character to play. You get the audience on side from the start.”

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Once the panto is finished, Stephen is straight back to work on Britain’s Got More Talent – just one of a number of family-friendly ITV shows he has made his niche.

He said: “I do shows that are for family audiences. The best example is Britain’s Got Talent, which appeals to teenagers mainly but does get the family audience involved.

“Then you have got Catchphrase which is proper family entertainment and Big Star Little Star which is for a family audience again. I’m not cool enough to do a show that doesn’t appeal to a family audience.”

Whether or not he’s ‘cool’ is up for debate; that he reliably turns family shows into hits is not.

Catchphrase was consigned to history before Stephen made it a ratings winner. Similarly, while the X Factor’s spin-off has had a veritable carousel of presenters, Stephen has been making the magic happen on Britain’s Got More Talent since 2007.

Despite all of his recent success, it’s one of Stephen’s earliest showbiz gigs that stands out, from back in 1997 when he was just 20.

He said: “I think the proudest moment was being invited to perform at the Royal Variety Show.

“I thought ‘if it all stopped tomorrow, this is enough’.

“I brought my parents down to London and I got them a room at The Ritz and they went to see the Royal Variety Show and afterwards we went to the after show party.

“It was giving a tiny bit back to them. They worked so hard – they’re market traders.

“I’ve got two brothers and a sister and we’ve all done the same thing in terms of growing up working on the market stalls.”

He’s even got a healthy sense of perspective on showbusiness.

“Honestly, if it stopped tomorrow I’m not one of those performers who would be depressed,” he said. “I would think ‘it’s been a great time, I’ve loved it, it’s been amazing.”

Stephen Mulhern stars in Cinderella at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, from December 4 to January 3. Tickets cost from £18. Go to www.fairfield.co.uk or call 020 8688 9291.