Things are looking up for Britain’s tallest man: Neil Fingleton, who stands 7ft 7½in (2.4m) tall in his over-sized socks, has been cast in a Christmas pantomime.
The role could have been written for Mr Fingleton, 28, who has been struggling to make a career as an actor. Next week he will become the first real “giant” to appear in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Previous productions have used actors on stilts, huge puppets or just a booming voice to create the illusion that Jack is being stalked by a giant.
He will make his debut at the Lighthouse theatre in Poole, Dorset, on December 11.
Mr Fingleton, who wears size 15 shoes, weighs 25 stone and has a 54-inch inside leg, said: “I can’t wait to start playing the giant; it’s like the role was written for me . . . I’m excited about my first performance.
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Mr Fingleton dwarfs the rest of a cast, which includes Rupert Hill and Jenny Platt, who played Jamie and Violet in Coronation Street, and Antonio Fargas, best known as Huggy Bear in the American television series Starsky and Hutch.
The only complaint from the rest of the company is that they are getting stiff necks looking up at him during rehearsals.
The real-life giant, originally from Durham, says his height is due to genes rather than a medical condition. His brother is 6ft 10in and his sister 6ft 3in.
When he was 16 he won a scholarship to America to play basketball but quit the sport with a back injury. After his return to Britain he decided to get into acting.
But he admits that his role could be seen as typecasting: “I want to be recognised as an actor, but I understand I’m always going to be typecast.