Richard Wilson, star of hit comedy series One Foot in the Grave, joined Prunella Scales, of Fawlty Towers fame, and Timothy West, best known for playing Churchill, for the annual event which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

They were among a number of guest practitioners invited to the festival to instruct workshops for some of the 700 drama students who have travelled from across the UK and as far as Amsterdam, Brussels and the Czech Republic for the event.

Competition for the handful of restricted places on the workshops was fierce, and 50 students battled over just 14 spaces on Richard Wilson's comedy workshop.

Kelly Hsueh, a member of the press and publicity team for the festival, said: "We had to literally man the doors to make sure nobody got in who was not supposed to.

"The students were absolutely ecstatic about the visits. The workshops were giving students information that they can take forward in the real working world. The programmes were giving them life experience."