What have Ant and Dec, Denise Van Outen, Jeremy Beadle and Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays got in common?
Britain’s Got Talent finalist and comedian Steve Royle says the famous celebrities all paid a visit to Camelot Theme Park near Chorley, back in the day.
The entertainer recalls happy memories of his antics at the popular theme park, when he was in his 20s. His spell at the venue saw him spend 13 years there.
Thousands of people would travel from across the North West and even further afield to enjoy the visitor attraction - named after the castle associated with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table when it opened in 1983.
The Chorley funnyman, who is starring in the pantomime Aladdin in Blackpool this Christmas, entertained families under the guise of Mad Edgar the court jester.
Steve said: “Back in the day we were entertaining 2,000 people twice a day and I don’t realised how lucky I was.
“It was a great place to perfect some of my routines and made me the performer I am today.
“It was the largest outside jousting arena in Europe. It was the place to be for the local community and was great for the economy. People used to come from all over to enjoy it.”
Steve Royle on Britain's Got Talent in 2020
One of the park's most popular rides was the Tower of Terror. The rollercoaster opened at the park in 1989 and the six carriages took thrill seekers through a castle building.
Did you dare you ride Camelot's Tower of Terror?
Steve said: “I remember Jeremy Beadle coming to promote one of the new rides there.
“But we used to get them all there including Shaun Ryder, I wanted to get all my Happy Mondays stuff signed. Then we had Denise Van Outen there.
“When I went on Britain’s Got Talent I was talking to Ant and Dec reminding them we met at Camelot when they performed as PJ and Duncan and they remembered.”
Clearing up operation after Camelot theme park hit by blaze
The venue in Charnock Richard closed down in 2012 and was left to go to ruin.
The abandoned theme park is set to be resurrected as a terrifying zombie experience later this year.
* What memories do you have of Camelot? E mail robert.kelly@nqnw.co.uk.
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