Olympic star to panto hero

Former Olympic multi-medal winning gymnast Louis Smith MBE returns to Lincoln’s New Theatre Royal for this year’s festive pantomime, Snow White. Interview by Barbara Young.

As a much-admired sportsman and popular high-profile Olympian-turned-TV celebrity, Louis Smith is often described as a “national treasure”. He continues to capture audiences beyond the gymnastics arena, including winning primetime shows Strictly Come Dancing (2012) and The Masked Singer (2021).

Now, having entertained audiences in his first pantomime role as the “baddie” Abanazer in last year’s production of Aladdin at Lincoln’s New Theatre Royal, Louis says he can’t wait to “dive back in”, only this time as the “good guy” in the role of Huntsman in this year’s production of Snow White.

“Lincoln was my first onstage panto, and now I’m back again for a second year,” explains Louis, who says he’s delighted to return to the fold of the NTR family. Last year was an incredible experience, it was tough but I like those little ‘pinch myself’ moments, where I think to myself ‘wow, I’m on stage performing, providing so much fun, entertainment and joy during the festive season. To be able to say that is your job for a period of time, it’s an incredible experience.”

So how do the two roles at opposite ends of the panto spectrum compare?

“I only have last year’s pantomime to go on, in which I played a baddie, which was lots of fun! I was able to go off script and have a lot of crowd interaction. This year, it’s also going to be fun, as I will be the polar opposite! I think success playing the Huntsman will be measured by the cheers and claps, whereas last year it was by the amount of ‘boos’ I received, but I’m looking forward to adding that new dynamic and finding that hero inside myself.

“It’s nice to play a different type of character, I know sometimes it’s easy to stay within what you know, but I’m excited to test myself. Traditionally, the bad guy is the main panto villain; however, this year I get the chance to play the hero, save the day and be the good guy!”

Road to Olympic glory
Pushing himself to be the best he can is something that has long been part of life for Louis, who grew up in Eye, Peterborough and began his love affair with gymnastics at the age of just four.

Diagnosed with severe ADHD as a child, his mother Elaine encouraged him to try a variety of sports over a number of years, giving him the opportunity to release his energy. It was gymnastics that captured his attention.

Within three years after his entry into the sport, Louis began training at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club, travelling over an hour each day with his mum on public transport to receive expert coaching. At the age of 15, Louis secured his first major international title, becoming Junior European Champion in 2004.

“Technically I wasn’t supposed to start gymnastics until I was five, but the coach saw me running riot with my mum in the seating area. He approached her and asked if she wanted him to take me off her hands for five minutes, so I started to join in with the other kids and I just fell in love with it. I started at a very small gymnastics club in a sports hall, and then picked it up very quickly. When they realised that I was quite talented, they advised me to join a better club, and the rest is history!”

A specialist at the pommel horse, Louis’ bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was the first individual medal won at the Olympic Games by a British gymnast since Walter Tysall at the London Games of 1908.

Louis’ stellar career includes winning a bronze medal and two silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics respectively and he was also part of the Great Britain team that took the bronze in the men’s artistic team all-around at London 2012, making him the most successful male gymnast that this country has ever produced.

“Sport was always something that captured my imagination. I loved being competitive, challenging myself and trying to be the best I could. I also thrived in competitions and found myself really enjoying the process of competing against someone.

“It’s always nice to win, but it was never my driving factor, I just wanted to keep improving myself. Gymnastics is such a cool sport, because there is so much to learn. I did so many sports growing up, but in gymnastics, you could learn a new skill every day of the year for 10 years, there is so much to learn, and it was fun to keep being tested.”

Making the transition
Carving a new career is a challenge for any sportsman, but having left the international gymnastics stage behind, Louis has remained resolutely focused.

“Personally, I am very ‘in the moment’; I went to training, then to the competition to compete, came back home and back again to training – it’s very routine.

“It’s interesting because at the time, you think that it’s going to be forever, but now I look back at the Olympics and European Championships, and think ‘wow, it’s all over in a flash’.

“Looking back on it now, I remember those times with a fond heart, and I’m proud of what I achieved.

“It wasn’t until that Beijing medal in 2008 that things just went mental. It was a very special moment. I was only 19 years old at the time and when I came back home after the Games, it was on another level. The whole city of Peterborough had put flags up, my poster was everywhere and there were paparazzi constantly outside my mum’s house.

“In the beginning, nobody outside of Peterborough really knew who I was, unless it was as part of the gymnastics community, but after the 2008 Olympics it went crazy.

“It was a big adjustment to get used to that, people wanted to sponsor me, interview me for national papers – it was all a thousand miles an hour.

“No one can really prepare you for what your life might be like if you are successful. When you realise that, you have no choice but to walk this new life. Looking back, I believe you make your own path but you also walk the path that is given to you… or you can choose not to. I chose to walk it, and it’s led to some amazing opportunities, and I wouldn’t change anything.

“Mental resilience has played a big part; learning to control emotions and do what needs to be done, to get the job done, whether it’s setting small targets and goals, or setting up a business. Having the mental fortitude to put your emotions to the side and think rationally, so that you’re able to make smart decisions, that’s certainly been an attribute I’ve taken from competing at high-level sport.”

Performing in panto
Louis says he is delighted to be returning to entertain audiences in Lincoln, which he describes as “a warm, welcoming and beautiful city”.

“I’m thrilled to be back. I had an incredible experience doing panto last year, the audiences were fantastic, making my first panto experience truly unforgettable.”

Louis first got a taste for performing when he was invited to join the celebrity line-up for Strictly Come Dancing, which in turn opened the door to further opportunities, including touring the UK in a dancing show.

“I certainly get nervous on stage. Performing hasn’t always come naturally to me, I was never a part of a theatre or stage school growing up. I can’t say that gymnastics is similar to performing, but when it comes to choreography and dancing, it has certainly helped. When I was on Strictly, it gave me the physical attributes to push my body to do more.

“Everything I bring to the stage is self-taught, so there is that feeling of imposter syndrome, but it’s something I enjoy so much, and I take comfort in knowing that when I put my mind to something I’m pretty good at it, which I take from my gymnastics.

“I try to apply the same enthusiasm to being on stage, I get to surround myself with so many amazing professionals when I do these shows. I like to sit and watch, and then take it all in. It’s one of the traits of having ADHD, you kind of analyse people, look at their behaviours and patterns, so I’m able to learn from them and then put it into my performance. So, while it’s not the most natural for me, I like to think if I’ve done the work I can overcome those fears and be the best I can be on stage.

“In terms of having been an Olympic gymnast and it helping to develop stage presence and performance, I can’t say that it helps that much, as you must really tap into yourself as a person – but it does help to do the odd somersault on stage and be in good physical shape.”

In the same way that he dedicated himself to training as an athlete, Louis has proved as committed in developing his stage skills.

“I think a lot of people assume that it is all fun and games, and it can absolutely be that way. However, you have to put the work in to get to that point, as we only have a two-week rehearsal period, and within that period you must learn all your ‘blocking’, your lines and get all the songs and choreography down.

“Then it is being confident enough to go and perform; it’s important to be fully switched on in the rehearsal room to learn everything. It takes me about a week to feel fully settled in, but then it will go from something stressful to a lot of fun.”

Louis says that as a child he enjoyed being in the audience at pantomimes and wasn’t shy to join in with any audience participation.

“This Christmas I’ll be travelling back home to spend time with my family. We’re expecting baby number two at the beginning of December, so that in itself is going to make this year’s festive season that much more special for us!”

Away from the stage spotlight, Louis is looking forward to further developing his recently launched photography business which he combines with motivational speaker bookings.

“It can be very easy to say no to things, especially things that can push you out of your comfort zone, so I said yes – and those opportunities then led on to more opportunities.

“The pandemic taught me not to rely on one source of income, so I’m keeping different avenues open and spending time with my partner and two wonderful children, being a family man, businessman and everything in between!”

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