Ventriloquist Keith Harris’s daughter follows in his footsteps at theatre where he set record

Kitty Harris’s father trod the boards of The Grand Theatre in Blackpool with Orville the duck some 50 years ago. Now she is following in his footsteps but in the title role of Cinderella.

Keith Harris, who was most known for performing in a comedy double act with the green duck in an oversized nappy, featured in the same production in the role of Buttons.

Ms Harris made her panto debut at The Grand earlier this year and said performing in the theatre where her father set a record for selling the most seats during a five-month summer season in 1983 was “emotional because I’m very similar to dad.”

“It’s sad – he went too early but it’s okay because...I’m here carrying on that legacy,” she told the BBC.

The ventriloquist and entertainer died from cancer aged 67 in 2015 and was a seasoned pantomime performer, appearing in shows around the country from the mid-60s until three years before his death.

However, he was recognised the most for his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey, who featured in his TV series – The Keith Harris Show – between 1982 and 1990.

He gained such popularity that he performed at the third birthdays of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex at Highgrove and Kensington Palace respectively.

Harris also reached number four on the UK’s Top 10 charts with “Orville’s Song” in 1982 before his record-breaking show in Blackpool in 1983.

His daughter, 24, said she had “always wanted” to perform at the same venue because it was such a career-defining theatre for her father.

She added that panto had been “so important to my dad”.

Harris starred in every major theatre in the country over the span of his career, writing and directing 17 pantomimes and holding the record for the longest run of Aladdin – sold out for 22 weeks at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.

‘British entertainment legend’

Adam Knight, the chief executive of The Grand Theatre, said Harris was “a legend in British entertainment and an important part of this theatre’s history”.

He went on to say that it was “wonderful” to see the star’s daughter “following in his footsteps”.

Ms Harris, who also boasts a following of 1.2 million on TikTok, is currently starring as Cinderella alongside Hayley Tamaddon, the former Emmerdale actor.

Ms Tamaddon revealed that Ms Harris had approached her for acting lessons a few years ago and that she had known her father “back in the day”.

The soap actress added that it “feels pretty magical” to be performing with his daughter on stage in the full-circle moment.

Ms Harris described Ms Tamaddon as her “fairy godmother in real life”, saying that she had helped her “with everything – acting, singing, dancing… she’s incredible”.

Their production of Cinderella is running at The Grand Theatre in Blackpool until Jan 5.

Orville puppet given new home

Steve Hewlett, a fellow ventriloquist and close friend of Harris, claimed he was given the original Orville puppet following the Hampshire-born entertainer’s death.

Mr Hewlett subsequently donated the green duckling puppet to the Grand Order of Water Rats charity museum, which is an archive of theatrical memorabilia located in the Water Rats pub in Kings Cross, London.

Orville is understood to have been acquired by the Showtown Museum in Blackpool earlier this year. The museum, which opened in March, shared a social media post urging fans to “come and see the original Orville puppet here at Showtown”.

He now sits alongside other exhibits such as the Blackpool police cell that Harry Houdini escaped from and matching suits owned by Morecambe and Wise.