Roy Staniforth, showman and pantomime dame

Roy Staniforth delighted thousands as a pantomime dame throughout a career spanning several decades.

A noted pantomime dame, he made his acting debut at 15, during the war, and remained active into his eighties.

He helped set up the Methodist Panto Players in his home village of Wales, on the edge of the Rother Valley Country Park, from where he treated audiences to a coterie of outrageous characterisations, in performances that became a village tradition.

But by the end of the 1960s the show had become such a favourite that it had outgrown its roots and moved to the Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield city centre.

His show was the last one on stage before fire swept through the Montgomery in 1970, but the company was back as soon as the auditorium had been rebuilt.

Never one for scaling back a production, his shows regularly featured more than 50 speaking parts and a full chorus.

For the company’s 50th anniversary he managed to squeeze a cast of 120 people onto the Montgomery’s stage.

Mr Staniforth wrote, directed and acted, and his productions helped keep the sense of community alive in Wales and nearby Kiveton. He was awarded an MBE for his work in 1997.

After his retirement from the stage in 2012, he said: “I will miss the fun of it all and seeing people’s faces as they are laughing. I will miss being on stage but I have no regrets. I have enjoyed every minute, it’s been a big part of my life.

“I will remember the happiness we have brought to people and the laughter we have had in rehearsals. It’s been such a joy.”

He died at the Lodge Care Home in Killamarsh, and his funeral will take place on May 9, with a service at Wales Kiveton Methodist Church, followed by committal at Sheffield Crematorium.