YOUNG dancer Holly Smith stepped into the panto spotlight at the last minute when one of the seven dwarfs fell ill.

She dashed over to The Theatre Royal in St Helens, put on her colourful outfit and joined the cast on stage.

Theatre manager, Chantelle Nolan, who plays Snow White, said: “I phoned Holly. She was having a happy meal at MacDonalds.

“She dropped everything to help us out.”

Holly, aged 11, of Little Delf, Haydock, has been dancing since she was three.

She is a pupil at St Edmond Arrowsmith and trains at the Broomfield Academy of Ballet.

She plays the smallest dwarf, Loopy, and also doubles up as a dancer.

Holly, said: “I just love everything about the theatre. It’s exciting, loads of fun and you make a lot of friends.

“I hope to be an actress when I grow up.”

Her mum and dad, Debbie and Simon, and sister Aleasha, aged 14, are coming to see her in the panto, which runs until January 9.