Panto easy? Oh no it isn’t, says Hoff the Hook

Theatre review: The Hoff in Peter Pan

But for now the 58-year-old actor is putting all his energy into the role of Captain Hook in a month-long run of Peter Pan at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

He mingled with fans and posed for photos last night at a post-show party for the production, which runs twice a day until January 16.

The Hoff, who appears in the pantomime alongside Louie Spence from TV show Pineapple Dance Studios, told the Standard: "It was great tonight. Two shows a day is amazingly tough and the audience for the late show was amazingly quiet compared with the afternoon, when everyone was screaming and clapping. It was our challenge to get them up, and Louie and everyone else rose to the challenge magnificently."

When asked about his role on Britain's Got Talent, he said: "That is easy. It's just hanging out with Simon Cowell. I have had months of practice of that in Los Angeles on America's Got Talent. I was just hanging out with 18 million viewers."

Spence has the cheeky role of Roger the cabin boy in the pantomime. "The public loved it, we seem to have hit gold-dust," he said. "David is lovely, but it would be better if he had his red swimming trunks on."

The theatre in Wimbledon — which last year enticed Hasselhoff's fellow Baywatch star Pamela Anderson to appear in its production of Aladdin — has hailed his appearance as "without doubt the most exciting piece of panto casting in history".

Fans can even buy "Hoff The Hook" T-shirts, for adults or children, as part of the show's officials merchandise.

One audience member from Wandsworth, who waited in the cold outside the theatre to meet Hasselhoff, said his performance was "brilliant".

She added: "I went [to the pantomime] here last year but it was my birthday on Tuesday so they read it out on stage. I like David for what he did in Baywatch."

The theatre, which celebrates its 100th birthday on Boxing Day, has previously cast Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz from Happy Days), former EastEnder Anita Dobson and comedian Bobby Davro in its festive productions.