Q&A with Dandini – CBeebies’ Andy Day

Cbeebies favourite Andy Day stars as Dandini in our family pantomime Cinderella from 03 Dec to 02 Jan. His shows for Cbeebies include the BAFTA-nominated Andy’s Wild Adventures, Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures and Andy’s Aquatic Adventures. He also fronts his own band Andy and the Odd Socks.

So Andy … any Yorkshire connections?

Just a love for Yorkshire Tea.

Describe Dandini in three words

Loyal, funny (I hope), tall.

What’s the first pantomime you remember seeing?

The first panto I saw was, in fact, Cinderella at Grays Theatre in Essex many moons ago!

What parts have you played in pantomime?

Smee in Peter Pan, Captain Crabstick in Dick Whittington, Dandini & Ugly Sister in Cinderella, Billy in Mother Goose, Muddles in Snow White and the Genie in Aladdin.

What’s been your best moment in pantomime?

We were once a part of someone’s wedding proposal at the end of one of the shows, which was nice!

… and your worst moment in pantomime?

Corpsing so much I couldn’t sing the opening song in the second act from laughing so much.

How do you know Cinderella director Juliet Forster?

We worked together on Cbeebies version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Juliet is a sweet lovely director who really gets the best out of you as a performer.

Will we see more of Andy Day the actor in the future?

Steven Spielberg and I are in talks for a new blockbuster movie as we speak!

What led to you joining CBeebies? Was your ambition to be a children’s presenter?

From the age of 19 when I travelled to Italy to do theatre-in-education with schools, working closely with Kids, I knew that was the audience for me. So It started then and I just worked hard and an opportunity came to audition for CBeebies and I have never looked back. Children’s TV is so lovely to work in.

Your best moment on CBeebies?

Performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

… and your worst moment on CBeebies?

Having to sit in freezing cold water because someone forgot to heat it over night for Andy’s Wild adventures!! Still fun though!

How did your band Andy and the Odd Socks come about?

I wrote an album with some music producer friends, we then found an awesome band and it went from there. Our first gig was Glastonbury and we have just finished filming Andy and the Band series 2. You can catch the first series on BBCiplayer.

Tell us about your involvement as patron of the AntiBullying Alliance and the role of Odd Socks Day.

Together we created Odd Socks Day where kids at the beginning of Anti-bullying Week wear a pair of odd socks to celebrate their differences and listen to a song we write which is based on the charities theme every year. It’s been going five years now and over five million kids got involved last year, it’s a light hearted push to bring the conversation about bullying to school and give a message through music.

Do you have any unusual interests or hobbies outside presenting that you’d care to reveal?

I love camping… and travelling, but being a Dad takes up most of my time which I love.

DON’T MISS ANDY IN CINDERELLA, 03 DEC – 02 JAN.