THE rain and cold failed to dampen spirits at a BAFTAs evening which started calmly but quickly escalated into climactic excitement as adoring crowds watched some of Hollywood’s biggest names arrive at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

In the early afternoon it seemed like business as usual in busy Covent Garden — besides the immense lighting rig, red carpet and road closures, and hordes of organisers pacing up and down, checking every last detail.

All this changes when the guests start to arrive. There is uproar as the likes of Kate Winslet, Sharon Stone, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Craig and Robert Downey Jr appear among the screams and constant, brilliant flashes of the cameras.

Mickey Rourke is magnetic as he struts into the middle of the red carpet, then poses, legs apart, lapping up the adulation.

The biggest screams are saved for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, however, who cuddle each other as they talk to their adoring fans.

Slumdog Millionaire is the movie of the moment, of course, and Danny Boyle, despite his humble beginnings in Radcliffe, seems almost as much in demand as Brangelina.

Shouts of “Danny” can be heard for almost half-an-hour as he makes his way slowly along the red carpet, ahead of his astounding success.