Couple get engaged during Floral Pavilion’s Aladdin pantomime in New Brighton

Dec 30 2011 by Helen Hunt, Liverpool Echo

A PANTOMIME performance ended perfectly for one Wirral woman whose fiancé proposed during the show.

Liz Corf was completely surprised when long term boyfriend Mike Wooley got down on bended knee and popped the question in front of a packed audience at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton.

Mike, a mechanic, had concocted a cunning plan with the cast of Aladdin to convince his sweetheart to join him on the stage during the panto.

He proposed with a ring Liz’s late dad had given her mum in front of family and friends who had joined them for a festive day out.

The couple have a 18-month-old son together called Leighton who was also in the audience as well as Liz’s mum, Jan.

Today Liz, 29, a business development manager, said: “Every year we all go to the panto and we took our son and nephew and all the family goes every year and this year was no different really. I thought I was just going to the pantomime and all the family was there.

“My nephew got called up on the stage with a couple of other kids and I didn’t think there was anything strange, then Mike got called up and the next thing I was called up and he went down on one knee.

“I was really made up. It was a complete shock. I’m still red now! It was absolutely lovely but I’ve never been so shocked.”

Mike, 27, who lives with Liz in Wallasey, has been with his girlfriend for four years.

He proposed just before the wedding in the Aladdin production which is towards the end of the performance where children are brought up on the stage.

Mike said that he came up with the idea when his mum went to buy the tickets and he thought he would ask management if they could help him propose to Liz on stage.

Theatre manager Paul Holiday said: “We had to obviously liaise with the company but they were delighted to help with Mike’s proposal.”

Aladdin which stars Kelsey-Beth Crossley, who played Scarlett Nicholls in ITV’s Emmerdale, as Aladdin, Andrew Agnew (PC Plum Balamory) as Wishee Washee, and Brookside’s Dean Sullivan as the evil Abanazar, runs until January 2.