Owen Money pulls out of pantomime over heart condition

Radio presenter Owen Money will not be embarking on his annual pantomime season this year after being diagnosed with a heart condition.

The BBC Radio Wales stalwart is well known for his involvement in Welsh pantomime and has produced and starred in shows for decades.

This Christmas, he was set to work on Cinderella in Cwmbran, Torfaen, and a new production of Sleeping Beauty in Blackwood, Caerphilly.

“It’s been my life for the last 25 years,” the 78-year-old said, “but the pantomime is a little bit too much for me so I decided to take a step back this year”.

He added he hoped to be back next year when his health issues are under control.

Money was due to star in Sleeping Beauty as Jerry the Jester, but has handed his role to Welsh actor Julian Lewis Jones, who appeared recently in BBC drama The Guest.

“I’m very much involved with the writing of it and the production of it and directing,” said Money, who was born in Merthyr Tydfil.

“It means a lot to me,” he said. “You entertain these kids, school kids, and then 20 years later they come up to me and say: ‘We love you Ow, we remember you in panto’.

“It’s a brand new environment for the kids, to be in the theatre for the first time, and I think it embeds in their minds the beauty of theatre.”

Money has worked with writer Alan Wightman for years and this year marks the first time they have done Sleeping Beauty.

“We’ve been in Blackwood for 25 years. I’ve done my Christmas shopping in Blackwood and bought the same things every year for the past 25 years – there’s only about 10 shops there,” he joked.

He set up his company, Rainbow Valley Productions, in 2000, but was involved in his first pantomime in 1980, followed by a seven-year stint at the Swansea Grand.

He recalls going to see comedian and “an institution when it comes to pantomimes in Wales” Stan Stennett at the Empire in Swansea.

When Stennett retired from panto, Money took over the mantle in 2000.

He has high hopes for his return next year, hoping to bring in a “very famous rugby player”, he said.

Despite his arthritis and not being able to walk very far because of his heart condition, he said he was “very optimistic” that he will be back.

But, for now: “I’ll keep all my stupid jokes and somebody else can have a go at that,” he laughed.