A spot of rain did not stop Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch making a striking pair at a premiere of The Imitation Game last night.
The Islington actress, dressed in a sparkling Valentino gown, huddled under an umbrella with her co-star on the red carpet as they chatted to fans.
She stars in the film as Joan Clarke, a cryptographer at Bletchley Park who befriends genius Alan Turing, played by the Hampstead actor.
The film is based on the real life story of Turing who helped crack the code of the German Enigma machine. He was later arrested for being gay and chose chemical castration instead of prison. He committed suicide two years later in 1954 and this marsk 60 years since his death.
It was held to launch the 58th BFI London Film Festival which runs until October 19 and includes screenings of 248 films.
Speaking on the red carpet Keira said: "I play Joan Clarke who was the only woman at the centre of the team who broke the Enigma code in the Second World War and also briefly the finance of Alan Turing and was an extraordinary woman.”
On launching the film at the festival she said: “It’s very thrilling. I think most of the cast are Londoners so it’s always lovely to have a premiere on home turf. Given that this is a typical British film and a very important part of British history it really feels very nice to be here.”
Keira described co-star Benedict as “lovely” saying: “He’s a mate of mine and he’s a wonderful, wonderful actor and watching him create this role was a privilege.
She added: “It feels like a lot of British people do know who he is but not enough.
"His part in history, so far as being part one of the fathers of the computer age and what he did in the Second World War and his story in terms of the gay rights movement, I think all of it is very important to know.”
Earlier the pair attended a photocall and press conference about the film, which is due for general release in cinemas on November 14.
Read our feature with Alan Turing's nephew here
Red carpet photos by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI
Press conference photos by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI
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