Britney jeered at movie premiere

Some had queued for hours, others had improvised banners hailing her arrival. But when Britney Spears belatedly turned up for the premiere of her debut movie Crossroads in Leicester Square, she gave the 3,000 fans waiting for her barely a glance.

Booing and jeering rang out from the crowd as it became plain that the singer and actress they had come to see was not interested in seeing them - or signing autographs, or posing for pictures. This was an object lesson in how not to promote your own film.

Britney, 20, is in town to launch Crossroads, in which she stars as teenager who takes a trip to Los Angeles to find her mother, played by Sex And The City's Kim Cattrall. Just hours before the premiére, she had been telling reporters how she keeps her feet on the ground thanks to her friends and the fear of being told off by mother. "When I go home, if I don't make up my bed or wash the dishes I'm in trouble," she said.

Such humility was conspicuously absent at the premiere. An hour late, Britney, wearing a backless halterneck silver sequined dress arrived, surrounded by giant security guards.

Instead of acknowledging the fans,whose excitement was by now at its peak, she swept imperiously in. She then emerged briefly to wave from a balcony before disappearing once again. It was at this point that the booing broke out - in both senses.

Jane Willis, who travelled with her daughter Gemma, 11, from Chingford, Essex, said: "Gemma's crying her eyes out because she couldn't see a thing. We've been here for five hours. How does Britney expect people to go and see her film if she can't be bothered to say hello to her fans."

The fans had expected much more. Tom Cruise, for example, spent an hour delighting the crowds at the recent Vanilla Sky opening, calling people's friends on the telephone as a prank, having his picture taken with fans, and so on. Britney's fans were lucky just to catch sight of her.

Fran Handley, 16, of Uckfield, East Sussex, said she had waited for nearly six hours in the hope of getting an autograph. She said: "All I saw was a flash of sequin and that was it."

Britney's departure was as much of a rush as her arrival had been. She headed straight for the after-show party at the In and Out Club in Piccadilly, where her giant security guards again stepped into action, ushering her straight into a private VIP suite.

There the impression of the aloof star was reinforced as she spent the remainder of the evening in the private room, ignoring all the party guests, except for a small group of "personal friends." Celebrities formed a queue outside in the hope that they would be admitted. Some, including Rachel Stevens of S Club 7 and boy band Blue, had no trouble at all while others were less successful.