EastEnders stunner Kara Tointon and her former co-star-turned-boyfriend James Alexandrou helped give the American stars of new musical comedy Hairspray a British welcome at the film's London premiere. Also treading the colourful rainbow carpet was recent Grease Is The Word winner Danny Bayne, who is busy preparing for his own big musical debut on the West End Stage.
Living up to the flick's title was Californian model Caprice who must have had a little 'product' help whipping her blonde locks up into an Audrey Hepburn-style 'do. While the production's better-known stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken and John Travolta - who cross dresses in the flick to play the role of Edna Turnblad - did not make the Leicester Square event, its young talents did.
Leading the cast-members was 18-year-old Nikki Blonksky who was plucked from obscurity to play the main role of Tracy Turnblad. The former ice-cream scooper with the big voice is set to be a major star - following in the footsteps of Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson. She was joined by Tinseltown favourite Zac Efron, who won legions of fans in High School Musical, the gorgeous What A Girl Wants actress Amanda Bynes and newcomer Elijah Kelly.
Hairspray, which is based on the Eighties movie and hit Broadway show of the same name, tells the story of overweight teen Tracy who dreams of landing a job on her favourite TV dance show. She wins the audition with the help of her friend Seaweed (Elijah Kelly), to the dismay of her mum (John Travolta), and incurs the wrath of dance queen Amber von Tussle and her mother Velma - played by Michelle Pfeifer. Hairspray opens in cinemas in the UK and US on July 20.