Jan Hunt
Jan has spent the last 60 years in show business doing everything she loves from cabaret, radio television, films, pantomimes, plays, farce, music hall and musicals. Although she has had a hugely successful and varied career she is still probably best known as the blonde,blue eyed presenter in the longest running children’s BBC TV SERIES * CRACKERJACK *
Her many theatre appearances include leading roles in 40 pantomimes in London and across the UK and Canada. Come Spy With Me , Show Boat, Run For Your Wife, The Life Story of Marie Lloyd, Lovely Lady, The Amazing Truth of Felicity Quick and The Mousetrap in London’s West End and in regional number one theatres her leading role credits include Touch and Go, Cluedo, Something’s Afoot, Once More Darling, The Real Monty, Paddington Bear, The Good Old Days, The Magnificent Music Hall, Fish Out Of Water, Bedfull of Foreigners, ‘Allo ‘Allo, Cowardy Custard,There’s No Place Like A Home and Me and My Girl to name but a few!
Her many TV appearances include T Bag Strikes Again, Fresh Fields, All Star Record Breakers, Give Us A Clue, The Morecambe and Wise Show, Generation Game, Basil Brush, The Ken Dodd shows and Christmas Special, Let’s Make A Musical, You, Me and It, The Alistair Cook Hour ,The Good Old Days, two BBC TV pantomimes, Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe, It Was Alright In The 70’s again to name but a few!
For 7 years Jan was the ‘one half’ of the comedy vocal duo Jan and Kelly. They travelled from London West End venues, The Stork Club, The Pigalle, the famous Windmill Theatre ( clothed!!!) to venues across the world doing cabaret and TV. They had a successful recording time with Phillips Records, their first ‘OOH ‘E DIDN’T ‘ getting into the top twenty. A TV SERIES IN Australia called Pull Up a Chair and a highlight being guests on a huge variety spectacular there starring the great silver screen star Mickey Rooney!! The duo split when Kelly was getting married and Jan returned to the UK to take over from the wonderful Barbara Windsor in Come Spy with me at The Whitehall Theatre in the West End.
It was Jan’s long and proud association with London’s famous Players Theatre Music Hall which led her to the many TV appearances on BBC TV’s longest running series The Good Old Days and to earning great acclaim when she appeared as the legendary ‘Queen of ‘alls’ Marie Lloyd in The Life Story of Marie Lloyd. In 1989 Jan’s love for Music Hall resulted in her establishing her own Music Hall Company, THE PAPER MOON THEATRE COMPANY.
Her production, THE MAGNIFICENT MUSIC HALL has toured with great success throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and in the UK with highlighted performances at The London Palladium, The London Coliseum, The Criterion , Wilton’s Music Hall, London’s famous ‘ALLY PALLY’ and The city of Varieries, Leeds. The production continues to tour throughout Spring and Autumn each year. The first Spring date is always at The New Wimbledon Theatre where Jan first appeared as a juvenile at the age of 11.!!
As a major theatre producer with Classic Comedy Productions Jan has co-produced Victoria Wood’s ‘dinnerladies’ Roy Clarke’s Keeping Up Appearances, Birds of a Feather ( with the
original TV cast) and Rising Damp and there are plans to bring a further TV sitcom to the stage in 2026.
Jan is also the producer and director for all theatre shows for London’s famous( originally ‘underneath the arches’) Players Theatre presenting sell out shows at Wilton’s Music Hall. Jan holds auditions and workshops to encourage new young talent into the genre of traditional Music Hall and produces and directs regular ‘New Faces ’ Music Hall shows in London.
Family life is of great importance to Jan and with a spirit for adventure she has paraglided, abseiled down The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth and achieved a life long ambition doing a ‘wing walk’ all raising money for charity. Not bad for an octogenarian!!!!