Ananova:

Lord of the Rings fans have been left mystified at the blockbuster's UK premiere after one of its stars walked up the red carpet with a life-size cardboard cut-out of Fern Britton.

Dominic Monaghan, who plays Merry in the trilogy, had been presented with the large picture of the This Morning presenter by the programme's makers, Granada.

The actor, best known for Hetty Wainthropp investigates, had spoken of his deep affection for the 46-year-old TV host and the ITV show.

A spokeswoman for This Morning said: "Dominic is a great fan of Fern. He absolutely adores her and always watches the programme. He was over the moon with the cut-out.

"Fern thinks it great to have him as a fan and she really likes him too - although obviously not in the same way as she is happily married!"

Alice Cooper, The Cheeky Girls, Jennifer Ellison and Shane Richie also turned out at the Return of the King premiere.

Up to 10,000 fans braved the rain to attend the Leicester Square event, and many dressed up as characters from the films.