A coastal town's favourite funnyman has surprised care home residents ahead of his return to the stage for panto season.

Having captivated east coast audiences with his comic charm, wit and unforgettable one-liners for the past seven years, "Lowestoft’s favourite" sidekick Terry Gleed is back.

Starring in consecutive pantomimes with The Marina Theatre and Paul Holman Associates, Terry Gleed is back in Lowestoft to play Wishee Washee in Aladdin at the venue.

But ahead of hitting the stage, he has visited the residents of Harleston House in Lowestoft.

The funnyman enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat with the residents, told them about his upcoming role in this year’s pantomime and gave the care home a signed poster to remind them of his visit.

Lowestoft Journal: Terry Gleed at Harleston House in Lowestoft. Picture: Marina TheatreTerry Gleed at Harleston House in Lowestoft. Picture: Marina Theatre (Image: Marina Theatre)

Gareth Harding, the activities co-ordinator for Harleston House, said: "Traditionally, every year we put on our own pantomime for January and residents are the cast.

"It was so kind of Terry to come in and visit us and sprinkle some magic pantomime dust amongst the group in the home.

"It was great to see so many smiling faces as Terry went around introducing himself in his Wishee Washee costume.

"This has inspired us to get cracking on production for our own pantomime.

"We will also be bringing a small group of the residents to the Marina Theatre so we get to see Terry live on stage in this year’s Aladdin - and we can’t wait."

The visit ended a week-long spree of appearances for Mr Gleed, who has also visited Topcats in Pakefield, panto day at Lowestoft Library, the Bungay Christmas lights switch-on and ASDA - to pick up some emergency supplies for his character, Wishee Washee.

Terry Gleed and his co-stars can be seen at the Lowestoft lights switch-on at 3.55pm in the town centre this Saturday, December 2.

Aladdin runs from Tuesday, December 12 to Monday, January 1 2024.

Tickets can be booked online or call 01502 533200.