The Manchester puppeteers who starred in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

By Ian YoungsEntertainment & arts reporter

An unremarkable low-level building tucked away da ns a suburban street in Greater Manchester hides the studio where the stars of one of this year's hottest Oscar nominees were born.

In a small room inside an unmarked industrial block, an old man with a bushy white beard is dressed in a tuxedo, ready for the Bafta Awards red carpet.

He seems to be a little uneasy in his wide eyes as a designer smells and pins the fit of his sleek new suit. remarks Peter Saunders, one of the managers of the studio where this fitting takes place. "He's not used to being all tied up like that, you see."

Geppetto, a humble Italian carpenter, is more used to carrying his weathered carpenter's clothes. But he has nothing to say about his new outfit.