Empire Awards 2016 red carpet: A chat with C-3PO, Andy Serkis, Johnny Vegas and Alexa Davies

Tucked away behind Park Lane, the Jameson Empire Film Awards returned for their 21^st run at Grosvenor House.

Starting in 1989, Empire has become Britain’s biggest selling film magazine, a legacy confirmed by the critically acclaimed nomination list for this year’s awards. As Johnny Vegas elegantly put it, “they know their onions”.

And what onions they were! The red carpet was graced by Star Wars‘ very own C-3PO, or, as he likes to be known, Anthony Daniels. Utterly elegant and with no shortage of charm, Daniels chatted to us about his long membership in the Star Wars franchise and the shared joy the cast and crew had in making the eighth episode.

That joy was shared by Alexa Davies, star of Raised by Wolves and big Star Wars fan, who chatted to us about this year in film – and was the first to admit her distraction in sharing the carpet with Daniels.

Johnny Vegas attended the awards with his wife – an anniversary tradition of theirs – and spoke to us about the importance of awards ceremonies for all those in the industry. He also gave us a coded clue for an upcoming project he is involved in with characteristic good humour. Frustratingly, we are yet to crack it.

Finally we managed to stop Andy Serkis, who has just finished filming the third Planet of the Apes, to find out about his time shooting it. We asked what we should expect from his upcoming project as director of Jungle Book: Origins, where he also stars with Christian Bale and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Melissa Hoban
Video: Filippo L’Astorina