Steve Speirs has revealed when audiences can expect to see his new BBC comedy with Ruth Jones. The actor, who is set to appear in Cardiff New Theatre's pantomime this Christmas, said the series, called Better Later, should be out in the New Year.
Better Later filming complete
Speaking about the show, which the pair have just finished filming, Steve said: "We both had bad knees, and I've had a big knee operation. We started talking about that, and laughing, and we started coming up with these characters. We then wrote a show, which we've just finished filming, called Better Later about two people who meet in a knee operation. The only thing they've got in common is they need new knees and they've got no one to look after them."
He added: "I'm in the edit for that now, and that all started with us chatting doing the Merthyr show. So it was really great. It was really sort of organic. It came from us doing the documentary, so that's nice."
Return to the panto stage
Steve will star as Monsieur Marzipan in Beauty and the Beast at Cardiff New Theatre from December 5, 2026 to January 3, 2027. It marks his first pantomime in 12 years, and he said it is "completely different" to screen acting.
He said: "I haven't done a panto for 12 years. So I'm really excited because it's such a gorgeous theatre, but I also have a certain amount of nerves because it is such a specific genre."
He added: "What I really love is the audiences. That's what I look forward to more than anything else. I think there's nothing like live theatre. To be in an arena where you create laughter, it's fantastic. The thing with doing comedy on TV, which is what I've been doing for the majority of my working life, is that you don't get that immediate effect of it. So, I'm really looking forward to that."
Family and co-stars
Steve said his friend Ruth will be coming to watch him in the panto with her grandchildren. He said: "She will be coming with her grandchildren, so that'll be nice. I should imagine it'd be a lot of healthy mickey-taking, and I think that's exactly the way it should be with your mates."
He will star alongside Gethin Jones, Jade Davies, Jacky Ryan and Mike Doyle, who will once again play the dame. Steve said of Mike: "I'm looking forward to working with... I mean, the stalwarts here, like Mike Doyle, who's been doing it for 120 years, I think. He opened the panto here when the theatre opened! He's been doing it for donkey's years."
Steve, who lives in Cardiff, said the timing was right because his daughter is now 11 and at an age where she would enjoy it. He said: "I think the fact it was Cardiff, and I live in Cardiff, which is fantastic, because it means you can spend a lot of time with the family and everything as well. But also because my daughter's 11 now, I thought, 'Oh well, she's at the age that probably this'll be the time,' because they become really trendy teenagers. They don't want to go on their own, but they'll go get dragged along if they have to sort of thing. But I thought she's at the age that I think she'd really enjoy it this time. So I thought it'd be a really nice time to do it."
He added: "My 15-year-old, uh, said, 'Cringe,' because he says cringe to everything I do. He said, 'Oh no, you're going to be on the stage, it's so embarrassing,' and I said, 'Well, that's what I do, that's what pays the mortgage.' Everybody's embarrassed by their dad, especially if your dad does stuff that other people see, but I think they're looking forward to it. My daughter can't wait. She really can't wait."
Tickets for the New Theatre pantomime are available through their website.
