Seend Fawlty Players’ annual panto this year will be held in memory of former cast member Desmond Edwards, who died last month after a long illness.

Mr Edwards, who was 81, was a founder member of the players and a leading light in the village, being heavily involved in the creation of Seend Social Club, now known as Seend Community Centre.

Tessa Doe of Fawlty Players said: “He was a great guy, highly esteemed in the village. He was secretary of the social club for years and, in fact, the lounge bar is named after him.

“He took part in all the early pantos, usually playing comedy parts.

“At his funeral there was a collection for the Wiltshire Blind Association as Des benefited greatly from the association’s help, providing him with talking books and newspapers. So the bulk of the proceeds from the panto will be donated to the association in Des’s memory.”

This year’s panto, Androcles and the Lion, on at the community centre next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, will also benefit 14-year-old Sam Chard, a pupil at Lavington School, who has to raise £3,000 to go on an expedition to Tanzania with Camps International, which includes voluntary work in Africa.

The Fawlty Players are claiming a first in presenting the story of Androcles, who won the love of the fierce lion by removing a thorn from his paw, as a pantomime.

Androcles, a Christian, was condemned to death in combat against a lion but his opponent turned out to be his friend.

It is a well-known fable by Aesop turned into a play by George Bernard Shaw.

Tickets, £5, are on sale at Seend shop and post office, the community centre and the Brewery Inn at Seend Cleeve.

Jackie Sawyer, who has written and directed most of Potterne Panto Group’s productions over the last 25 years, received a very special gift from her cast last week.

As the group prepares to open its offering for this year, Pinocchio, mother-of-two Mrs Sawyer was presented with a montage of pictures from the last quarter century’s productions.

Mrs Sawyer was not in the first production, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but was an enthusiastic member of the audience. She said: “It was organised by the Potterne Country Fair committee. The beauty of these village pantomimes is that you see people on stage you know making fools of themselves.”

Since then Mrs Sawyer has written and directed all but two of the group’s pantos. This year’s production is on at the village hall tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 7.30pm with a matinee on Saturday at 2pm.