A musical and panto star has been dropped from his role as Prince Charming after his porn sideline was revealed. He was due to appear in Cinderella at the Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline, Scotland, this festive season but 30-year-old Craig Chalmers, who found mainstream fame after coming 5th on the BBC’s Any Dream Will Do programme in 2007, has been axed.
Married Chalmers from Edinburgh has been replaced by co-star James Mackenzie after a member of the public tipped-off the pantomime’s producers that he’d featured in less family-friendly material as Ryan Ryder. After impressing Andrew Lloyd Webber, he’d appeared as Joseph in a UK touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, but his stage experience clearly didn’t sway Cinderella’s bosses who didn’t want a panto with added panting.
A spokeswoman for the Alhambra Theatre said that Chalmers hadn’t denied his porn past but he’d been dropped from the show as organisers didn’t feel it was appropriate for someone who’d worked in porn to appear in the family panto. She added: “In light of information given by an anonymous member of the public, of which we were completely unaware, we can confirm that Craig Chalmers is no longer taking part in our pantomime Cinderella. We are extremely disappointed that Craig Chalmers did not see fit to make us aware of his involvement in the adult entertainment business. If we had been made aware Craig would never have been cast in our panto. The Alhambra panto is all about fun for all the family and it would be entirely inappropriate for him to take part. The role of Prince Charming will now be played by CBBC’s Raven star James Mackenzie.”
Speaking about his ‘other career’, an unrepentant Chalmers explained: “I’m not ashamed of it. I’m being well paid and I’m comfortable with doing it. The plan was to wrap my panto career up after this Christmas and concentrate on my new career. However there has been an unintended crossover and I’m well aware that there is a clear conflict of interest. I understand that a lot of people are going to judge me badly for it but at the end of the day both my friends and family are fully aware of my career and they support my decision.”
Support has come from co-star Jane McGarry, who played Isa in Still Game, and is the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She told Stv.tv: “Well, I know in this current climate we have to be very politically correct and say yes we can’t have somebody who made adult movies in a panto, but, well, you know, the kids aren’t really going to know, hopefully, they’re not going to have seen any of the movies.”
Jane continued: “They’re just going to take it at face value. I don’t think it’s really a big deal what he does in his own private life. It’s not hurting anybody and it’s fine and if I was taking my own kids to the show and I knew that he was in it, I’d be smiling away to myself. I wouldn’t be worrying about Cinderella. I’d just be thinking about what’s his name, Ryan Ryder.”
With a giggle the actress added: “I am just gutted that I won’t be able to sneak into his dressing room at the interval!”
On the JEM Talent website – specialising in adult entertainment talent management – ‘Ryan’ is described as, “…the new man on the block to the industry and with the combination of his large equipment, good looks, and assured performance in front of camera, he is already in demand. Ryan’s friendly and laid back nature along with his dependability and work ethic means he is a fantastic asset and our very first exclusive male performer. Ryan is available for both recorded shoots and live shows.”
Chalmers has also previously appeared in boy-band No Reason and performed with a male strip group called G-Force.
