12:00pm Friday 4th May 2012
Crowds orbited Corsham for an out of this world time at the town’s annual Sci-Fi Family Fun Day on Saturday.
Around 2,500 people, many dressed as characters from Stars Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek, visited Corsham Community Centre and Springfield Leisure Centre for the hugely popular event, now in its fourth year.
It raised £6,620 for Wiltshire Young Carers Project, the British Heart Foundation, 16-30 PHAB and Marie Curie Cancer.
The fun day was opened at 10am by Red Dwarf actor Chris Barrie.
Although he plays Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf, he turned up in character as Gordon Brittas, from his other popular show, comedy series The Brittas Empire.
Mr Barrie was joined by fellow Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules, Star Wars actors Richard LeParmentier and Jerome Blake.
Former Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant were reunited at the event, during which Corsham’s two centres were invaded by daleks, stormtroopers and a host of lookalikes.
Mr Baker, who was the sixth Doctor, said: “Today has been fantastic and well organised.
“There are so many fans here and I’m really enjoying having the chance to meet them as well as catch up with some old friends.”
There were lots of activities taking place, which included a raffle, a memorabilia auction, souvenir stalls and film screenings.
Red Dwarf star Mr John-Jules, who plays Cat in the series, said he really enjoyed returning to the fun day for the second time and speaking to fans of the show, which returns for a new series on TV channel Dave in October.
He said: “I came here last year and it was amazing, so I used my powers to get Chris [Barrie] to come this time and then maybe next year I’ll get Craig Charles and Robert Llewellyn to come as well.
“It is so great to meet fans of the show and I think they are really going to enjoy the new series.”
Adrian Davies, chairman of Charity Sci-Fi, a Corsham-based group, who organise the yearly event and others across the country, said: “It is beyond belief how many people are here today and it is totally amazing. We just keep continuing to get more and more people coming in which is absolutely brilliant.
“Every year is a learning curve for us but we are really pleased with how this year’s event is going and we are looking forward to next year already, although we might look to address the entry system because of the amount of people we had this year.” Another group member, Matt Booker, who runs Automattic Comics, in Pickwick Road, said he was overwhelmed by the how many people came to the event.
He said: “Today has been fantastic.
“At 1pm we still had people queuing round the block to get in and we’ve been really pleased with how popular this year’s event has been.
“I’m a little dazed, confused and most of all overwhelmed, but I’m so happy that today has been so ridiculously popular.
“I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has come down, all our celebrities, who have been fantastic, and to Corsham Town Council, Rudloe Hall Hotel, Manor Garage, Corsham Print, Memory Lane Cars, Palmicro and Chippenham Scouts, who have given great support to us.”
Star Wars fan Adam Turner, 34, from Westbury, who attended the event with wife Jemma, 33, and son Ryan, eight, said he really enjoyed meeting his idols from the film.
He said: “We’ve come for the last couple of years and it is a really fun, well-organised, day out.
“It is pretty thrilling to be able to chat with some of the stars of my favourite films.”
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