Two dogs are being turned into stage stars after landing the part of Toto in this year’s Christmas panto the Wizard of Oz.
Border terrier Minky and cross-breed Poppy will take it in turns to perform alongside kids TV star Dave Benson Phillips who has taken on the role of the scarecrow.
Minky’s owner Fran Broad, from Worcester Park, and Poppy’s owner Denise Speyer, from Langley Vale, are sure to be looking on with pride at their pets' debut.
The pantomime opens at the Epsom Playhouse on Saturday, December 13, and runs until early January.
The scarecrow (Dave Benson Phillips) and Dorothy (Samantha Giffard)
After the doggy auditions, theatre manager Elaine Teague said: "Minky and Poppy were exactly what we were looking for.
"They got on well with Samantha Giffard who will play Dorothy and were extremely well behaved and very good at tricks!"
Back at the panto launch in the autumn, Benson Phillips joked that he used to have a "pathological fear of dogs" and he had hoped that an automated dog would be used in the production.
Minky and Dorothy
He said he went to a class to overcome his fear and ironically one of the other participants had a fear of black people. He told them: "Your therapy starts now".
He added: "Everyone had to face their fear and I patted this labrador and it had enough and bit me. I got a refund and everything."
The Wizard of Oz; Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom; From Saturday, December 13, to Sunday, January 4; www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk; 01372 742555
Poppy and Dorothy
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