Gorleston performer to make West End debut alongside Dawn French and Julian Clary

Jamie John is the only UK dwarf drag artist.Picture: Jamie John (Image: Archant)

Jamie John, 29, has landed a role as one of the Seven Dwarfs in Snow White at the London Palladium, which stars Dawn French, Nigel Havers and Julian Clary.

At this stage, Mr John does not know which of the dwarfs he will be playing, though since receiving the good news he admits that Happy would probably be the most appropriate.

He said: “I’m really excited, I can’t wait.

“I’ve been in show business since I was really young, so for something like this to come along is the icing on the cake really.”

It stars Dawn French, who is playing the Wicked Queen, Julian Clary, who is playing The Man in the Mirror, Nigel Havers as The Understudy and Paul Zerdin, who will be playing Muddles.

Mr John said: “It’s the biggest cast I have ever worked with. It’s really exciting, but also quite daunting to be honest.

“I’ve done things like Harry Potter and Little Britain, and I have done many pantos with celebrity headliners, but this is the biggest so far.

“For it to be at the Palladium too is quite crazy.”

Mr John did his first professional show when he was 16 and has gone on to become the UK’s only dwarf drag artist, a role he has held for 10 years.

Mr John said: “I have been doing this for the last ten years, and as far as I’m aware, there aren’t any.

“It was just something I did off the cuff. There was this thing in Gorleston called Mad Mag Day which I dressed up for and somebody said ‘there’s a niche in the market for this’.

“I studied other drag queens for about a year, both the new types and the old ones, and went from there.”

Mr John’s career has since kept him on the move, including a three year residence as a drag artist in Gran Canaria.

Snow White at the London Palladium pantomime will run from December 8 to January 13, with two shows per day.

Tickets can be booked from May 4 at www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/snow-white