Diesel runs low at premiere

Hollywood's action man Vin Diesel braved the stormy London weather last night to appear at the low-key premiere of his latest movie, The Chronicles of Riddick.

Diesel, pictured here with co-star Alexa Davalos, was at the Vue Cinema in London's Leicester Square to mark the 27 August opening of the sci-fi sequel.

Picking up where 2000's Pitch Black left off, it features Diesel as space outlaw Richard Riddick, caught between a major battle between two opposing forces, the Necromongers and the Elementals.

The futuristic thriller also features British actors Dame Judi Dench and Mission: Impossible's Thandie Newton - although few of the stars turned up.

"I just wish Judi Dench was here to see to see it," Diesel said.

"After we shot our first scene together the cameraman presented me with a photo of Judi and me posing together on a veranda. I immediately sent it to my mother."

The aftershow party at Trap nightclub in Soho was something of a damp squib, with Vanessa Nimmo, a casualty from this year's Big Brother, making up the numbers.