BBC News Online: Entertainment

Depp on Jack the Ripper's trail

The actor went unrecognised by fans on his two-hour tour, and he was accompanied by Ripper expert and ex-policeman Donald Rumbelow.

The pair rounded off the tour with a stop in The Ten Bells Pub, where one of the Ripper's victims used to enjoy a drink.

In the film From Hell, Depp plays Inspector Frederick Abberline, a drug-addicted police inspector desperately trying to catch the killer who terrorised London in 1888.

He said he was impressed by the depth of the actor's knowledge on the subject.

"He's one of the best-informed people I've guided.

"He's intelligent, easy to get on with, genuinely nice. He'd read my book, which was flattering."

The star visited the site of the Frying Pan pub in Brick Lane and asked to see the doorway where the Ripper wrote a message after one of his murders.

A spokesman for The Ten Bells said of Depp: "He was a really nice bloke, very friendly. He had a couple of halves of lager and talked about the Ripper. He knew his stuff."