When a boxing champion demands a free drink, it is perhaps best not to argue. But that is exactly what barmen did when Chris Eubank decided he was not going to pay for his drinks after the premiere of League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The former world middleweight champion turned TV reality star caused a stand-off with staff at St Martin's Lane hotel in the early hours when he was told he had to pay for his drinks.
Eubank, 37, took the law into his hands and went behind the Asia De Cuba bar to help himself to a round of £8-a-piece Bacardi and limes and refusing to pay.
The incident was resolved only when a party organiser from 20th Century Fox stepped in with a corporate credit card.
Eubank's antics were watched by tee-total Cold Feet star John Thompson, who sipped two fruit-juices throughout the course of the evening, as he sat with partner Sam Sharpe.
An altogether more exclusive party was taking place for the cast at the 5 Cavendish Square members' club, with Sir Sean Connery, his wife Micheline and friends enjoying a champagne and Scotch-fuelled dinner. In the film, Sir Sean plays Allan Quatermain, who fights alongside other literary heroes including Dorian Gray and Captain Nemo.
The former James Bond actor was surprised by the 2,000-strong crowd which cheered him outside the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square.
He said: "It's fantastic out there, but I wasn't prepared for such an onslaught. They were just so enthusiastic." He brushed off comments that at 73 he was too old for action films, telling one reporter: "Let's see how far you'd go in a fight scene with me."
