A NEW canine star will be born when the curtains go up for Weymouth's Christmas panto.

Rover would be barking mad to turn down the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to follow in the paw prints of other four-legged legends, such as Lassie.

Two star-struck family pets could soon be scampering off down the yellow brick road to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz - if they win through against other hopefuls to play the part of Dorothy's dog, Toto, in a glittering production of the Christmas classic.

Doubts had been raised over whether allowing a dog to tread the boards at the Pavilion theatre goes against Weymouth and Portland Borough Council's ban on performing circus animals.

But the plan to give Toto a key role in the panto has now got the green light from councillors and the search for a star is on.

Council spokeswoman Jacqui Gisborne said: "It doesn't matter what breed of dog it is, but previous acting experience would be helpful.

"The most important thing is that he should be friendly towards people and that he should not suffer from stage fright.

"He will be performing in front of hundreds of people and there will be a lot of bright lights and clapping, so candidates should definitely not be shy.

"We are also looking for an understudy as there are 36 performances and it wouldn't be fair to make one dog act in all of them - at least he won't have any lines to learn!"

She added: "There will be scope for the star to shape his own role. Toto is very important to the story and potentially he could be on stage with Dorothy a lot of the time, depending on how well-behaved the dog is."

The theatrical company staging the pantomime is appropriately called Spillers, which is also the name of a dog food manufacturer.

Willing woofers should send their details and a mugshot to Jacqui Gisborne at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, North Quay, Weymouth.

An audition will be held at the Ocean Rooms at Weymouth Pavilion on December 9, starting at 9.30am. Dogs can be either male or female.

The Wizard of Oz, starring former Crackerjack presenter Ed Stewart and ITV's Wizadora, Lizzie McPhee, will run for three weeks at Weymouth Pavilion from Saturday, December 16 to Saturday, January 6.