Anger after Snow White's dwarfs are 'replaced with friends'

Pantomime bosses have defended themselves after being accused of axing the seven dwarfs from a production of Snow White in case it caused offence.

De Montford Hall in Leicester said dwarf was not a term "that people feel comfortable with" and it would be using "friends" in its Christmas show instead, the Leicester Mercury reported.

The decision prompted an angry response from actor Warwick Davis. "Personally, I find it quite patronising when people are offended on our behalf," he said.

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"I'm sure there are those out there who don't like the term, but as a short actor I want the choice about whether I appear in panto or not. I don't want someone making that decision for me."

Pantomime-goers were equally unimpressed, the Daily Mail reports. "How can you have Snow White and the Seven Dwarves without dwarves?" said father-of-two, Mark Chapman.

"It is just political correctness gone mad. You cannot just rebrand a children's classic at the risk of offending somebody. "

However, the venue's general manager, Anthony Flint, has since insisted that dwarfs will feature in the show, they will just be played by children instead of adult actors.

"The script still features the seven dwarfs, but our approach to the story is much more in line with the original Grimm Brothers tale than the Disney version, so they are less involved in this show," he told The Times.

But the decision to give the role to children is equally controversial – with Davis suggesting it is simply a way for the theatre to make more money.

"The profit margins for pantos are not very big and it's obviously much cheaper to involve schoolchildren than it is to pay lots of professional short actors."

His co-director at the Willow Management actors' agency, Peter Burroughs, agreed. "They can employ kids but that takes the living away from some of the dwarf actors so that is the great sadness here."