Press conferences - they're great.
Oh no they aren't! Oh yes they are!
I've just returned from the Empire where they were unveiling their stellar line up for the Christmas panto Cinderella.
Cinders herself, Jenny Ellison, has filming commitments and couldn't be there.
But fairy godmother Cilla Black was in attendance dressed in silver and looking like a cross between a mermaid and Elvis.
She revealed the last time she was in panto at the Empire was in 1986 with Gareth Hunt.
"I was asking the audience 'how shall I kill him?'" Cilla said: "All the kids were shouting out but I heard one say 'why don't you sing to him?'.
"I dare that kid to come back and see me again! They'll be quite a bit older now. And I will be singing."
Cilla celebrates 45 years in showbiz this year and maintains she can't think of anywhere she'd rather mark the milestone than appearing in the city of her birth.
And she said there was one reason she was particularly glad to be back: "One of the things I miss about Liverpool is the water. I was in my hotel this morning and you get a nice good lather up."
Lovely.
Other cast members include Les Dennis, who was wearing a glittery blue suit as Buttons.
The new dad said he'd been walking through Liverpool the other day when some wag had shouted: "Hey Les, you look a bit tired - have you been up breastfeeding all night?!"
Ted Robbins is playing Baron Hardup, but looked a bit hot and bothered as he'd had to pop out of the theatre shortly before the press conference in full ruffles and satin tailcoat to move his car.
Apparently all the taxi drivers parked around Lime Street barely batted an eye lid, and just said "all right Ted lad" like it was the most natural vision in the world.
And the ugly sisters will be played by Pete Price and Roy Brandon.
Pricy was so excited he even forgot to mention until the end that he'd won a Sony award last night. He did, however, manage to mention his radio show and book of course.
First Family Entertainment impresario Kevin Wood promised a show with no bad language or rubbish jokes. Well, we did OK on the first today but there were some distinctly lame quips being batted around so he'll have to do something about that before December!!!
The only part they didn't unveil was Prince Charming - apparently they will find him from among the people of Liverpool/Merseyside as a "legacy" idea for Capital of Culture.
The show's stars were handed over to the massive gaggle of photographers and camera men and the rest of us descended on the buffet like panto locusts.
