X-girls rate the highest

Despite the film title it was the X-Girls who stole the show as 3,000 fans crammed into Leicester Square for the West End premiere of X-Men, the latest Hollywood blockbuster to arrive in Britain.

They cheered Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart, who flew in with his fiancée Wendy Neuss from their California home and was moved by the welcome on his return to Britain. The 60-year-old actor, now best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, said: "It's great to be back here in London and get such a reception."

But the most raucous reception was reserved for the trio of stunning female stars from the film, led by Danish actress Famke Janssen, the former Bond girl wearing a semi-transparent white dress with sequinned bands. She was joined by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in a blue leather two-piece, and Halle Berry wearing a lacy low-cut backless top and blue plastic trousers, while 18-year-old Anna Paquin, the Oscar-winning star of The Piano, was more demure in a long blue dress.

They were at the Odeon Leicester Square, followed by a party at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, for the opening of the film, based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, which has broken box office records since its release in the US, earning box-office takings of almost £100 million in only a month. The £50 million movie had one of the six biggest opening weekends of all time and is tipped to become a huge hit in the UK too.

Stewart, who plays the leader of a gang of mutants with special powers - against a villain played by the absent Sir Ian McKellen - said: "It's been extraordinary - it had the best opening week for a non-sequel in the history of the world. There's been such a huge fan base for over 30 years, which made us very nervous - but I think they liked it."

Curiously, none of the stars had been particular fans of the comic before taking part in the film. Anna Paquin admitted: "The first time I read a comic was after I had got the job. Then I read dozens of them but I didn't really know much about it."

Guests at the premiere included TV entertainer Les Dennis and his actress wife Amanda Holden, back together after their recent split, and footballer David Ginola, returning to the bright lights of the London social scene despite his transfer to Aston Villa. Model Paula Thomas was accompanied by designer Julien Macdonald, she in one of his more daring creations.

Also there were Cilla Black, who arrived with fellow Liverpudlian Paul O'Grady - alias Lily Savage - and TV presenter Richard Blackwood, while Spice girl Emma Bunton popped into the party at the Roundhouse, where weird effects continued the theme of the film.

Bar staff and waiters wore spooky outfits and DJs played in the catacombs beneath the former railway turntable building, while strange visuals were projected on to a giant inflatable ball and plates of sushi arrived by conveyor belt.