WARWICK Davis’s parents always told him to hold his head up high and be confident to avoid bullying.

Though he never grew beyond 3’ 6” he never experienced it at either his first school, Chinthurst in Surrey or at his secondary school the City of London school.

Warwick who is not only playing Prof, the senior dwarf in Snow White at the Manchester Opera House, but also directing it, described what happened when he was born on February 3, 1970. He was a tiny scrap of humanity in a family who had never experienced dwarfism.

“The doctor came to my dad who was in the waiting room and asked him to stand up. He said: "You are not short, are you?" His father replied “Is it a boy or a girl?”

His parents would never have guessed that by the age of 11, their small son would be famous.

One day his granny heard a radio appeal for short people to take part in Star Wars’ Episode VI, The Return of the Jedi. Originally cast as one of many Ewoks, his luck changed when the original actor fell ill, and he got the part of Wicket.

He said: “If my nan hadn’t listened to the radio that day, I wouldn’t be here now.

“I would have liked her to have seen me presenting Celebrity Squares. We used to watch it together although she did see me in Willow before she died.”

Willow, the 1988 American fantasy film in which he played the title role, was Warwick’s first film to expose his face. It received a Royal Premiere attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The young Warwick thoroughly enjoyed being in Star Wars.

Mark Hamill asked if he collected toys from the film and if he wanted any more.

“I wrote an A4 sheet of wants. Mark came back the next day with all of them. I still have them now.”

Carrie Fisher was equally kind. She was concerned he was getting too warm in his Ewok suit.

“She was always there with chocolate milk and cookies,” he said.

Then he spoke of Life’s Too Short, the BBC Two ‘mocumentary’ written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant shown between 2011 and 2013. It was a comedy featuring the problems of every day life people of limited height face and was loosely based on Warwick’s own experiences.

Warwick said: “I met Ricky Gervais when we were extras together. In this industry it is a good idea to keep a book with the names of people you have worked with.

“When I got the idea for Life’s Too Short, I got in touch with him but didn’t hear anything.

“Eventually he and Stephen Merchant got back to me and said they liked it. It was two or three years after that before it appeared on our screens.

“He is a very powerful individual in the entertainment industry. He has helped me with my career.”

Life’s too Short is already back on UK Gold.

Earlier this year, Warwick had another success when his Reduced Theatre Company toured the country with See How they Run. It was a huge success everywhere including the Manchester Opera House.

“We’d like to do another show sometime,” said Warwick who has half of the minute set stored in their garage.

“It did a lot for short actors and allowed people to see them in a different light.

“They showed that they were more than just pantomime characters and had real talent,” he said.

Talking of pantos, his daughter, Annabelle, now 17, who suffers from the same condition which affects her mother, Samantha’s, height, starred in Snow White at the Opera House when she was only seven.

“She stole all the glory,” he said.

“Now aged 17 she is doing her A-levels yet has clinched a part in a film. It is still top secret!” said Warwick bursting with pride.

His equally small son Harrison, 11, doesn’t want a stage career.

Soon rehearsals will start for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

“In three weeks, I have not only to create the show and rehearse the other actors, I have to learn the Prof scenes, too. It’s a huge challenge.”

One trick is to keep the Wicked Queen, Priscilla Presley’s cauldron constantly bubbling in her laboratory. “It draws people in if only subconsciously,” he said.

He doesn’t direct from a high chair. “I am not authoritarian I listen to the cast’s ideas.”

“Theatre is the best. You get feedback instantly. The panto could be a child’s first experience of live theatre. I want their visits to continue.”

Warwick and Samantha recently attended the Pride of Britain awards. “It put everything into perspective,” he said.

* Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is at the Opera House, Manchester, from December 5 – January 4. For tickets, call 0844 871 3018.