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Strictly Come Dancing winner in panto baby dilemma

BBC Olympic gymnast Louis Smith in a huntsman costume on stage at a theatre. The backdrop shows green foliage.BBC
Louis Smith MBE is starring in Snow White over the Christmas period

Olympic medallist and Strictly Come Dancing winner Louis Smith MBE said he would "finish off his performance" in a pantomime, even if his partner goes into labour.

The gymnast is due to star as the huntsman in Snow White at the New Theatre Royal in Lincoln from 3 December to 5 January.

His partner, jazz dancer Charlotte Bruce, is due to give birth to the couple's second child on 5 December.

"If I get a call on stage I'll finish the show off, because I can't imagine the baby's going to come in the next hour. That only happens in the movies, right?" he said.

Stars gather on stage at the New Theatre Royal. The stage is lit green with trees as a backdrop, and you can see the royal boxes on the sides of the picture with classical style white and red paints
X Factor and Geordie Shore star Amelia Lily plays the Wicked Queen and Sophie Towns stars as Snow White

Smith told BBC Radio Lincolnshire he was "thrilled to be back" for his second time doing panto in Lincoln.

However, he added: "It's going to be a tricky and very busy December for me."

Smith said one of the first people to know about the pregnancy was Natalie Hayes-Cowley, the theatre's artistic director.

"I'd already signed the contract before we knew we were having another one," he said.

"I presume there'll be an announcement at some point saying 'Louis has had to go to the hospital because his daughter's arriving'," he joked.

"That probably gives you the best excuse to leave," he said.

The four-time Olympic medal winner lives in Peterborough with Ms Bruce and their first daughter.

He won the 10th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and The Masked Dancer in 2021.

Smith starred as baddie Abanazar in Aladdin at the New Theatre Royal in 2023.

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