THEATRE fans were baffled after Danny Dyer appeared on stage for just 13 minutes in his much-publicised role in Nativity! The Musical.

The EastEnders star, 41, featured heavily in ad campaigns for the show’s London dates alongside daughter Dani, 22.

But he trod the boards at the Eventim Apollo for ten per cent of the two-hour run — and did not join the cast in the finale singalong.

Danny plays Hollywood producer Lewis Parker in the caper, for which tickets cost up to £120 each.

One audience member told The Sun: “It was a bit baffling that Danny wasn’t in the final song considering his daughter was. For the expensive ticket price, there was definitely an expectation amongst the crowd of seeing a bit more of the man himself.”

Danny’s wife Joanne Mas, 42, was in the audience with Dani’s on-off Love Island boyfriend Jack Fincham, 27.

The gala night on Thursday was hit by further trouble when comic Jo Brand, 61, who plays the part of a critic, had to borrow a co-star’s microphone when her one failed.

Nativity! The Musical — the film version of which starred Martin Freeman — tells the story of a primary school teacher who promises his pupils to get a big-shot producer to see their nativity.

Last year’s stage version saw former X Factor judge Louis Walsh take on Danny’s role.