13 JUNE 2005

Britain's female movie fans found themselves swooning en masse on Sunday when some of cinema's hottest hunks descended on London. Welsh heart-throb Christian Bale was joined by chisel-jawed Irish actor Cillian Murphy for the UK premiere of their new flick Batman Begins.

But it wasn't just young bucks provoking cheers from the crowd, because movie veterans Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were also in attendance. Leading lady Katie Holmes meanwhile brought a touch of feminine charm to the glitzy bash, dazzling onlookers in a low-cut black gown and £10,000 worth of Swarovski crystals.

The new flick has been heralded as the best instalment yet in the Batman series: Critics stateside have applauded Christian, who originally hails from Pembrokeshire, for leaving predecessors George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton in the shade.

Asked about his portrayal of the comic book hero, the actor said he used his "evil moods" to create the character's shadowy personality. "It's darker and more sinister than anything that has gone before," explained the 31-year-old. "I feel that facing Batman should be like meeting a dangerous animal. You should be unsure whether he's good or bad."

The huge crowd gathered outside the Odeon Cinema were no doubt relieved to discover Christian is rather more amicable than is onscreen character. He and his co-stars went for a lengthy walk-about, chatting with fans and signing autographs before heading inside for the screening. A passing police officer wasn't quite so impressed when he spotted the Batmobile rolling into the strictly pedestrianised square, however, so he promptly slapped a ticket on the £550,000 vehicle's windshield.