THE SOCIAL NETWORK:For many people the opening night of the Gaiety panto is the start of the Christmas season. At Cinderella, which opened at the Dublin theatre on Wednesday evening, the screams from the children of "He's behind you!" were louder than the protesters on the Budget day demonstration.

The magician Keith Barry was in the box nearest the stage with his wife, Mairead, and daughter Brianna. They shared it not only with Keith and Lisa Duffy and their daughter, Mia, but also with the actor Sharon Sexton, who played the Fairy Godmother. Sexton spent almost as much time up in the box performing her lines and casting spells as she did on the stage.

Duffy missed the second half of the panto, as he had to dash off to RTÉ to record The Craig Doyle Show.

Mr Tayto – the panto is “in association with” the crisp company – made an appearance on stage, and packets of crisps were thrown out to the audience.

“I swear to God, I sort of said, oh, not another plug,” TV3’s Alan Hughes said during the interval. He sounded as if he needed to talk to Joe Duffy, who was also there.

Hughes is set to star in this year’s Cheerios panto, Snow White and the Adventures of Sammy Sausages, which opens at the Tivoli next Wednesday and holds its opening night on Tuesday, December 18th.

Julian Benson took time out from Wilde nightclub, which was named Best New Establishment at this year’s National Hospitality Awards. He is preparing for his New Year’s Eve “Eyes Wilde Shut” masquerade ball at the nightclub. “We’ll be ringing in the New Year in style, under a festive flurry of midnight snow in the club,” he said.

The cast and crew of the panto enjoyed a postshow party in the Gaiety but had to be up early, as the next show was at 11am the following day.

Who we spottedCaroline Downey Desmond, who produced this year's panto for the first time; Morah Ryan; singer Rebecca Storm; Pádraig Harrington; stylist Lisa Fitzpatrick, who arrived with her children Dalton and Sophie; former model Corina Grant; actor Vivienne Connolly; Lorraine Keane and her daughters, Emelia and Romy Devlin; Norah Casey; Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh; Karen Koster; Billie Barry, who turned up to lend support to the performing Billie Barry kids.