The somewhat unusual request came out of the blue – and was the first for theatrical work since the March lockdown.

We need a scale model of a Morebus to get Cinderella to the ball on time and we need it quick!

The call for action came from Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts.

The venue has successfully put together Happy Ever After, a special Covid-secure festive family show, in little more than two months.

A traditional panto would take more than a year. 

The story is written and directed by CBeebies’ Chris Jarvis.

He appears as Buttons to introduce a host of favourite pantomime and children’s storybook characters who come together to help Cinderella get to her next ball. 

But when the star of the show is running late how is she going to get there? 

By bus, of course.

Lighthouse has again partnered with Morebus, but because a real bus wouldn’t fit on the stage the bus operator designed a scale model for construction.

And that’s exactly what Charlie Camm and his team of ‘elves’ – in reality highly skilled theatrical set builders – did at their workshop on the edge of Higher Woodsford, near Dorchester. 

Charlie, who founded Scenetec with his wife Helen in 1995, said: “The job for Lighthouse came out of the blue and was our first theatrical work since lockdown in March.

“We worked on the Concert Hall stage extension at Lighthouse that meant Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra could properly social distance for their live streamed concerts.

“Just as we were wondering what would be next I got a call from James Smith, the lighting designer who is co-producing Happy Ever After with Chris and Lighthouse, to say he needed a bus – and quickly.” 

Scenetec had worked with James before on the Light Up Poole festival of digital light art and also for London Children’s Ballet.

The company’s track record has included Disney’s Beauty and the Beast world tour, National Theatre, British Library and Shakespeare’s Globe, as well as exhibitions work for companies including Jimmy Choo and Lush. 

Charlie trained at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art at Shelley Park, then Chelsea School of Art before following a career path encompassing church restoration, boat building, office work, tractor driving, scene dressing, set building, stage management and architectural model making.

By the mid-1990s he was looking for someone to build his set designs and decided he could do it himself, which is how Scenetec came to be. 

He said: “Until this year we’d been pretty busy ever since.

“What I love is finding creative solutions to people’s problems within the constraints of time, budget, logistics or technology.

“The bus for Lighthouse had to be able to be packed flat and fit inside a long wheelbase van, so it’s a maximum of 4.5 metres and as light as possible so the cast can move it across the stage.

“When it’s painted up and with James’s lighting it looks incredible – like having a real bus on stage without actually having a real bus on stage.”

Joe Quinlan, Assistant Marketing Manager, Morebus, pictured left, said: “We’ve had a wonderful time working with Lighthouse to bring one of our buses to the stage.

“This year’s show has been a fantastic effort from all those involved and, as a fully committed member of the local community, we’re looking forward to helping bring some much-needed festive cheer to Poole this Christmas.” 

• Happy Ever After stars CBeebies’ Chris Jarvis with CBBC presenters Naomi Wilkinson and Ed Petrie and runs until Sunday January 3. For tickets, which include a free ice cream, please click here.