A love-struck teen has made the ultimate romantic gesture by proposing to his girlfriend on stage at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.
When Sophie North and Tom Deane were announced as “competition winners” during a performance of the pantomime, Peter Pan, she thought they were in for a treat, but little did she know a marriage proposal was to be her prize.
Rather than being given a panto treat, she was presented with a ring when Mr Deane got down on one knee and, much to the delight of the watching audience, she said ‘yes’.
Miss North said: “I was really shocked, surprised and happy.
“When we got called on stage I thought we had won an evening out or a meal.
“I was a bit shocked when they said we hadn’t won anything, but then it all clicked and I realised what was going on.”
Mr Deane added: “I was terrified.
“When I was walking up on to the stage I was just thinking ‘don’t fall over’.”
Mr Deane arranged the proposal through the theatre for December 22, but admits it wasn’t exactly what his new fiancée had in mind.
He said: “She doesn’t really like crowds and told me she wanted it to be just me and her when I proposed.
“But when I found out we were going to the panto I just thought I would do it there.
“When they said we hadn’t won a competition the audience laughed. But then they gasped when I got on one knee and were screaming and shouting when she said ‘yes’.”
The couple, both 18, from Bicester, have no firm date for the wedding yet but expect to tie the knot within two or three years.
