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Horrid Henry's Jewish sidekick

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When one of the naughtiest children in fiction is brought to the big screen later this month, a north London schoolboy will be making his red carpet debut alongside several showbiz legends.

Eleven-year-old Gabriel Werb, from Elstree, is in the film adaptation of the beloved Horrid Henry series.

Big names in the film, the UK's first 3D blockbuster, include Prunella Scales and Richard E Grant.

Gabriel, who plays goody-two-shoes Tidy Ted, was picked for the film after being recommended by the teacher at his weekend theatre club, Youngstars.

To match the fictional character, his normally blond hair was dyed a reddish-brown, and he had to make sure his school uniform costume was perfectly neat.

The film was a professional acting first for Gabriel, although his mother Michelle Werb said her son had been "singing, dancing and acting since he was two, morning, noon and night".

At one point Gabriel shared a portion of chips on set with Miss Battleaxe -– better known as Anjelica Huston.

"It was a phenomenal experience," said Mrs Werb. "He was a fan of Horrid Henry already."

"My friends are a bit jealous," said Gabriel. "It was really fun. I had to wake up at 6am to go to the set, but I woke up at 4am because I was so excited.

He said he wanted to keep auditioning and acting, but said that right now, he was most excited about starting secondary school at JCoSS in September.

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