THE movie Billy Elliot may have taught us that you don’t have to be posh (or a girl) to pirouette, but it seems there is still one very big barrier in the ballet world – and it involves weight.

Most dancers are slender, but is that because tutus only come in smaller sizes, because it is harder for larger people to achieve the necessary elegance and nimbleness, or down to simple prejudice?

New series Big Ballet should shed some light on the matter as it follows a group of plus-size dancers as they try to stage their own performance of Swan Lake.

They have a champion in the form of dance legend Wayne Sleep, who has overcome size-related prejudices of his own – he was the shortest man ever to make his debut on the Royal Ballet stage.

In the first episode, Sleep joins forces with prima ballerina Monica Loughman to whittle down 200 would-be dancers to a troupe of only 18.

While many of the Big Ballet auditionees are novices, or have never danced before, others like 52-year-old Christine Longster, from Knaresborough, have years of experience.

Having loved ballet since she was small, Christine achieved her ambition of winning a place at the Royal Ballet school.

But, having been told she would not fit their criteria because at 4ft 11in she was “too short and the wrong build” she became obsessed with the way she looked and stopped eating, eventually returning home and severing all ties with ballet.