VIDEO: The bad boy you love to hate: Dirty Den stars in the Grove Theatre pantomime 2013

Aussie icon Ryan Moloney, fondly known as Ramsey Street legend Toadfish, is fresh from a stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house and will lead the cast of Dick Whittington as Idle Jack.

He’ll be joined by one of the most popular soapstars of all time, Eastenders bad boy Leslie Grantham, aka Dirty Den, who will be doing what he does best playing the panotmime villain, Dirty Rat.

Leslie said: “Dirty Rat is my usual type of charming, personable, kind man...not. I tend to play the bad guys because I look the part but also because they are the best parts to play. I don’t want to come in all ‘slap your thigh and where’s Widow Twanky’, I think it’s better to get the audience booing you.”

The audience at The Grove will have no problem booing the Albert Square alumni, as he revealed he likes to pick on people sat in the front row, but says he is “nasty without being too nasty because you don’t want to frighten the kids so much they don’t want to watch the show.”

Despite a couple of ‘bah humbugs’, he insists he does embrace the Christmas spirit.

He said: “I like a nice glass of wine, that’s the Christmas spirit. I take photographs of presents and I show them to people to say that’s what you would have got...but you can make do with a satsuma.”

If he managzes to avoid Father Christmas’ naughty list, Leslie knows what he would like to find in his stocking.

He said: “Charlize Theron, she would be my pantomime fairy and princess. Charlize Theron and me in panto would be brilliant.”

Catch Dirty Rat, Idle Jack and the rest of the cast in Dick Whittington at The Grove Theatre in Dunstable from December 13, 2013 - January 5, 2014.

For tickets visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01582 602080.

> See the full Dirty Den interview at www.lutontoday.co.uk.