Prescot looks favourite for a day trip Gromit!

Peter Salis... is the voice of Wallace

A Merseyside arts festival has announced a guest appearance from one of Britain’s best-loved TV and film actors.

Audiences at the Prescot Festival in June will spend an evening in the company of Peter Sallis, most famous as Clegg in the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.

On TV Peter has played Samuel Pepys, and on the silver screen he has chased werewolves and been staked through the heart in Hammer horror films. More recently he has gained new popularity with old and young alike as the voice of Wallace in Nick Park’s Wallace & Gromit animations.

In An Audience with Peter Sallis, the esteemed actor, now 88, will be interviewed about his life and career, which has encompassed well over a hundred films and TV series since 1947. The public will then have a chance to put their own questions to the star.

Among other events in the 10-day Prescot Festival will be an opening night with the ever-popular Fairey Brass Band, a come-&-sing performance of Handel’s Messiah (excerpts) and a concert by Dr Jazz & the Cheshire Cats. Modern chamber music, songs from the shows, contemporary acoustic and classic film will all be on this year’s packed programme.

A highlight of the Festival will be the world premiere of a new piece of classical music commissioned by Mr Norman Williams for the Prescot Festival from local composer Kevin George Brown.

The Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts was founded by composer, musician and teacher Dr Robert Howard in 2005 as a way to celebrate Prescot’s rich historical and cultural heritage.

“It was exciting to be supporting Liverpool as Capital of Culture last year,” said Artistic Director Dr Robert Howard, “but it didn’t just stop there. We’re keeping arts and culture alive in Prescot with this annual festival, and it just keeps getting better.”

The Fifth Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts takes place from Friday 19th to Sunday 28th June. Full details are available on the official website, www.prescotfestival.co.uk.

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