Screen vixen Pamela Anderson’s stint in New Wimbledon Theatre’s production of Aladdin hasn’t started yet and already there is a hitch.

The former Baywatch star will miss the first two performances of her two-week run as Genie of the Lamp, which includes a fundraiser for Great Ormond Street Hospital on December 13.

Insiders say issues are beginning to appear as Anderson’s British stage debut draws nearer. It’s said she has never seen a panto before - much less starred in one.

Comedy queen Ruby Wax, current starring as the genie, will fill the breech for the charity show, before Anderson joins the cast on November 15.

She will remain in the role until December 27 (including Christmas Eve and Boxing Day shows), when she passes the baton to ex-EastEnder Anita Dobson, who will in turn be replaced by talk show host Paul O’Grady.

The latest embarrassment comes just days after it was revealed a sultry picture of Anderson used for an Aladdin promotional poster is in fact six years old, having been shot in 2003 for a Poeple for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign.

She had posed in a lettuce leaf bikini to raise awareness of vegetarianism as part of an international PETA campaign.

While Anderson has not yet arrived in London to begin rehersing for the show, she visited Wimbledon in October to meet the producers and director Ian Talbot.

The panto appearance comes after Pamela recently confessed she had been hit by the recession and let down by a string of investments.