John Bishop: comedian thanks fans for ‘contributing to special time’ in his life as Mother Goose Pantomime ends

John Bishop has thanked fans for their support after the Mother Goose pantomime, which he starred in, came to a close on Monday night.

The award-winning comedian, 56, from Liverpool, took up the role of Vic Goose in the production alongside Sir Ian McKellen.

He took to Instagram on Monday to upload a video of him speaking on stage as the show finished its five-month run across the UK.

In the video, John said: “Lights up so that we can see our friends, so that we can see who we’re talking to at the end. And we all stand before you now, full of joy and pain because we’ve loved making this show, but we will never make it again.

“You’ve seen what it’s like. It’s daft, it’s bonkers, and it’s silly, but what it has done is it’s brought us together, and it’s made us a family. When people ask us about it, you can imagine what we tell them. We can’t wait to tell everyone that we’re in a show with Ian McKellen.

He added: “It’s right that we shall go home, and it’s also right that we finish in this beautiful theatre, the Hippodrome. And so it has ended, and we must all depart, and the price we pay for the joy that we have is our collective broken hearts.

“We’re all going to remember different special memories. I’m wanting to share with you mine. I will never forget my own mother singing Sweet Caroline. Now if this all seems over-sentimental, I offer you no excuse. You see, we are the lucky ones. No one else got to be us. We got to make Mother Goose.”

The comedian’s closing speech was met with a huge round of applause from the audience at the Hippodrome in Bristol.

John Captioned his post: “Last night @mothergooseshow ended in Bristol Hippodrome. It has been an incredible experience, and in panto tradition, I tried to say a few words in rhyme, but nothing can truly express how wonderful this has been. And the master himself said a few words. Thank you to everyone who worked on the show and to those who came - you all contributed to a really special time in my life.”

It comes after John recently confirmed that his mother had passed away in a touching tribute shared on social media.

He revealed that she had watched and sang along to his Mother Goose performance in Liverpool before her death.