The Force was strong with Southend Pier when Star Wars legend Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, visited for filming yesterday.

And the star didn’t disappoint the lucky fans who gathered to see him as he asked for security screens to be moved aside so he could meet them and pose for pictures.

Hamill, who has played the iconic sci-fi character since the first Star Wars movie was launched in 1977, was in town to film an episode of Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, which in the past has brought other international stars to town including Usain Bolt and Orlando Bloom.

Among the fans lucky enough to meet him on the pier yesterday was Russel Harris, who Tweeted “Met the Last Jedi Mark Hamill in Southend yesterday. So happy!”

Hamill, who briefly appeared at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, is due to reprise his role as Skywalker when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits the movie theatres in December.