Katie Price and Kerry Katona's Cinderella ticket sales soar

The controversial TV icons sent out shockwaves on September 19, by announcing they’d be working side by side in Northwich Memorial Court's annual family panto, Cinderella. 

The girls will be playing Cindy's wicked stepsisters, usually known as the ugly stepsisters, but rebranded by Katie because 'nobody would believe it’.

It will be the first time the off-screen pals have worked together since I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here back in 2004.
Kerry, from Padgate, won the popular ITV show then.

But the news spawned a free-for-all of brutal verbal abuse on newspaper websites and social media, including some deeply personal insults, and criticism about the pair’s fitness to be role models for children.

One commenter described their casting as a ‘chavfest’, while another said 'Northwich has no clout if there the best we can get', while yet another added: "I couldn’t think of a better way to avoid the panto than this."

Despite the slew of online meanness, it actually seems Northwich is well up for the daring duo’s brand of risqué banter and unique personal chemistry. 

READ MORE > Kerry Katona to star alongside Katie Price in panto

The full cast of this year's Northwich Memorial Court Panto, Cinderella (Image: Anton Benson Productions)

In fact, the panto’s producers, Anton Benson Productions, have confirmed all-time record-breaking sales for tickets to Cinderella, which runs from December 8 to 31. 

A spokesman for Anton Benson Productions said: “When our casting news broke on Thursday, we sold the highest number of tickets we’ve ever sold in a single day during the whole of our 14 years in Northwich.

“Then on Friday, we broke our daily sales record for the second consecutive day.

“I'd recommend people book their tickets soon before all the best seats go, to avoid disappointment.”

Kerry, 44, said she's ‘lost count’ of the number of pantos she's starred in, having started when she was just three.

Katie, 46, is a rookie by comparison, though Cinderella at Northwich will be her fourth.

Not everyone has been quite so critical. One residents, responding to the news of the casting, took a kinder approach.  

Responding to the negative comments, Sharon Ruth, who has already bought her tickets, said: “I find it hard to believe how unkind people are over this.

“These woman are people, and even when customers have said they are looking forward to seeing them, they are being asked if they are joking.

“What happened to 'in a world where you can be anything, be kind'.

“I am genuinely looking forward to seeing them, and if I wasn't, I would just scroll on.

“These responses really make me worry about how unkind people are capable of being.

"Remember, kindness is a strength.”