Mirren gives troops ‘royal’ send-off

Dame Helen Mirren thanked troops drafted in to beef up Olympic security telling them they did a “great job”. The actress, who won an Oscar for her performance in The Queen, attended a ceremony at Wapping Rose Garden in Tower Hamlets to say goodbye to more than 100 service personnel who were based at Tobacco Dock near her £2 million home.

After a march off by the Royal Marines band, Dame Helen, 67, signed autographs while troops and volunteers ate a curry.

She said: “I have loved having the troops here. It has been great to see Tobacco Dock full of people and we have felt so close to what was happening in the Olympic park.”