It may be mid-October with the first signs of winter appearing, but once inside the warmth of the Hippodrome you're instantly fast-forwarded a couple of months to turkey and tinsel time – and all thanks to the boundless energy of an ever-youthful Tommy Steele and a magnificent cast who combine to bring Dickens' famous Christmas Carol back to life with renewed vigour in this new touring version of Scrooge, the musical.

One of my earliest memories of "pop" music was listening to a young Tommy Steele "Singing the Blues." Now, almost half a century on that same Mr Steele is turning back the clock – by 'singing as Scrooge.'

He may not look like the archetypal Scrooge we've come to expect - remember the sneering, loathsome performances of Alistair Sim, Albert Finney, and that last great incumbent of the role on the Birmingham stage, the late Anthony Newley – but Tommy Steele is nonetheless engaging and equally entertaining. I do wonder though, whether a wiry, silver-haired wig might have conveyed a more accurate image of old Ebeneezer than Mr Steele’s own long (and lank) flaxen-coloured hair. That was the one flaw in an otherwise faultless production.

This was Tommy Steele doing exactly what he's been doing since making his stage musical bow in "Half a Sixpence" back in 1963. Since then he's enjoyed a huge following (of kids) as "Hans Andersen" and got drenched many times over while "Singin' in the Rain." Now he's back doing what he's always done best, bringing that cheeky smile and impish sense of humour to a role not normally associated with such qualities. And what's more it works – just ask the full house audience who gave him and his hard-working colleagues a well deserved standing ovation.

The storyline may be old, but this latest production from the Bill Kenwright stable has a freshness and vitality that belies its years. The set design by Paul Farnsworth is both imaginative and easily adaptable; the costumes wonderfully convey the Victorian age of the 1840s, and Paul Kieve's illusions are breathtaking.

Indeed at a time when one particular publicity-seeking "illusionist" considers lying in a see-through box suspended over the River Thames for 40-odd days passes for "entertainment" it's heartening to know that there really are "magicians" out there capable of providing such brilliance on stage. David Blaine eat your heart out - only do it slowly, on doctor's advice!

While Tommy Steele dominates - he's barely off stage - there are other notable cameo performances from Alan Ruscoe, a proud and proper Bob Cratchit, Gemma Page and Ray Gardner as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, and Gareth Jones as the rotund, and robust, Mr Fezziwig.

But it's Barry Howard - late of Hi Di Hi fame (remember him as the ballroom dancing teacher?) - who really takes the plaudits, and produces the laughter, with his brilliant interpretation of (the late) Jacob Marley. The "ghostly" scenes with his four phantoms are worth the ticket price alone. Wonderfully funny and immensely inventive.

It's a heart-warming show bursting with humour and the all-important feel-good factor. My message to all the hard-working cast - to quote the show's most singalong number - "Thank You Very Much". To anyone who thinks differently there's only one thing to say - BAH-HUMBUG!