Ice-cool Bond's royal night

Guns, gadgets and girls - you'd have thought we would all be bored of the same old Bond formula by now.

But the crowd at Monday's première for Die Another Day couldn't get enough of 007.

Some 600 Bond fans gathered for a glimpse of Pierce or Halle or anyone with even the vaguest whiff of fame about them.

One-time Blue Peter presenter Katy Hill and Pop Idol judge Dr Fox even raised a hearty cheer.

Ice palace

The Royal Albert Hall was transformed into an ice palace for the evening, in homage to the lair of Bond villain Gustav Graves.

If ice was the theme organisers were going for, they got the temperature right.

Over-exposed female stars shivered as they made their way up the red carpet and into the hall as temperatures dipped, dipped and dipped some more.

Halle Berry still managed to look stunning in a black and white Oscar de la Renta gown with matching wrap.

She wasn't as hardcore as some, however, who binned wraps, stoles, or - heaven and the style police forbid - a coat altogether.

Others took the rather more sensible option of forgoing the icy winds and the red carpet and simply driving up to the front door.

Richard Kiel (aka Jaws) was the first to take this approach.

Towering at well over six feet, five inches tall and with a reputation as one of the most indestructible Bond henchmen ever, this was not a man the security guards were going to be arguing with.

A-listers

The guest list for the evening was varied to say the least.

First up were the Z-listers - Katy Hill, Dr Fox and a kilt-sporting Darius Danesh.

Then there was the B-list - former Bonds Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby, all as dapper as ever.

And, then, of course, there were the ones everyone had been waiting for - Brosnan, Berry and Madge.

The crowd went wild for all three, with one hopeful member of the crowd yelling out a proposal of marriage to Berry - which she dutifully ignored.

Brosnan's entrance brought the loudest cheer - despite being heralded by the poorest attempt at fireworks a première crowd will ever have the misfortune to see.

He made up for it though, signing autographs and giving co-star Madonna a smacker for the cameras as the crowds got to their feet for a glimpse.

Madonna, who arrived with husband Guy Ritchie, was dressed conservatively in a knee-length black cocktail dress and took the time to make sure she knew how to greet the Queen.

She practiced her curtsey in front of co-star John Cleese.

Insane

The crowd had no complaints.

Australian Justin Berry had probably travelled the furthest for his glimpse of Hollywood heaven.

"This is insane and absolutely freezing, but worth every minute," said Justin, from Brisbane.

"I've been a James Bond fan forever but I've never done anything like this before. It's fantastic."

Other crowd members were equally positive.

"The cold doesn't matter because you are just so excited," said Joe Hepburn, from Battersea, in south London.

"I've seen all the stars and I've had an amazing night."

Fireworks that went with more of a fizz than a bang, the kind of temperatures that make you long for the real Hollywood and Darius aside, this really was a première to die for.