Last year's "Dick Whittington" pantomime at Manchester's Opera house attracted several complaints from parents and school teachers who had taken youngsters to the theatre for some festive fun.
For me, the writing was on the wall long before opening night when I learned the stars of the show were to be John Barrowman and The Krankies. Both John and the Krankies are, in my view, long overdue for a trip to the comedy garage to have their filters repaired.
There were several complaints about adult humour in the show. I'm not talking about traditional pantomime innuendo that makes adults laugh but flies over the heads of the youngsters: I'm talking about adult humour that children are well capable of understanding.
John Barrowman encouraged the audience to chant "Alice loves Dick!" again and again which alarmed a great many parents and teachers as the double entendre is obvious to most primary-school children.
He also outraged adults and shocked children by fondling Jeanette Krankie's breasts.
As if that were not enough, Jimmy Krankie (the little one who is actually Jeanette, the woman mentioned above) at one point stuck her index finger through the fly of her trousers, giving the impression it was a penis. Parents and teachers for a great many miles around Manchester were dismayed not only when it happened on stage but when, in the weeks following the pantomime, that behaviour was copied again and again in homes and schools - not only by children who'd seen the pantomime but also by their friends who had been told about it.
