Mother complains Dick Whittington pantomime led to her children repeating 'Alice loves Dick' joke

'My children required far too much explaining about adult humour for a family show,' says Natalie Wood

John Barrowman stars in the Dick Whittington pantomime (Manchester Opera House)

A production company has defended its Dick Whittington pantomime following a mother’s complaint about its “sexualised” nature.

Natalie Wood claimed audience members were invited to chant “Alice loves Dick” at one point in the performance at Manchester Opera House, which she said was peppered with “smutty jokes”.

The pantomime stars ex-Doctor Who actor John Barrowman and The Krankies, an 80s comedy duo.

Ms Wood’s children repeated the “Alice” phrase while poking their fingers out of their trousers to simulate a penis, she told the producers - as actor Jimmy Krankie had done on stage.

At another point in the pantomime Mr Barrowman’s character touched Jimmy Krankie’s breasts, she said.

Ms Wood, of Oldham, told the Manchester Evening News: “I have never been a pantomime where I felt so uncomfortable. The whole show was very sexualised.”

“The main issue for us was the actual fondling of Jimmy Krankie’s breasts and all the different cheap smutty jokes,” she added in an interview with the BBC.

Ms Wood took 10 family members to the show including six children aged between three and 12, the broadcaster said.

The swimming instructor wrote to the team behind the pantomime, saying: “My children were repeating ‘Alice loves Dick’ and sticking their fingers out of their trousers for a pretend penis throughout the evening.

“This is not acceptable and my children required far too much explaining about adult humour for a family show.”

In a joint statement, Qdos Entertainment and the Manchester Opera House said: “In keeping with the tradition of pantomime, the script does make use of double entendre and part of that is a play on the names of the characters.

“None of the humour within the show is intended to cause offence of any kind and the enjoyment of our audiences is always paramount.

“We value all feedback we receive and the Qdos creative team regularly review all comments in order to inform the development of our shows, both currently on stage and scripts for the future.”