Royal Mail has revealed the theme of its festive stamps - which this year evoke the pantomime spirit - created by Bristol agency So Design.

The stamps have been created by Bristol-based agency So Design Consultants, and will be on sale from November 4.

First Class stamps will carry Aladdin's Genie while the burly bullies from Cinderella, the Ugly Sisters, will appear on Second Class post. Higher value stamps will feature Peter Pan's Captain Hook and Snow White's Wicked Queen.

Steve Haskins, creative director of So Design, said: ‘It was a great honour to be asked to design the highly prestigious Christmas stamps. Taking such a traditional subject and making it appealing to an audience on a small scale was a real challenge.”

The stamp designs are digital illustrations based on photographs - created in collaboration with Bristol-based photographer Peter Thorpe - and feature local people and commercial models.

The agency also designed the Christmas Collector's Packs, First Day Cover and Christmas Smilers stamps.

Julietta Edgar, head of special stamps, Royal Mail, said: “Pantomime is a genre unique to the UK with a tradition stretching back hundreds of years. It certainly provided me with my first experience of live theatre and is always one of the highlights of Christmas.”