Hollywood superstar Ewan McGregor has been filming his latest movie in one of Norwich's most historic landmarks.

Scenes for Jack the Giant Killer - which also stars Ian McShane, Bill Nighy and Nicholas Hoult - are currently being filmed at Norwich Cathedral, and the actor has been spotted outside the venue by a number of people.

Among them are friends Tewsday Hannant, 27, and Laura Gibbs, 22, who were on a break from their jobs as customer service assistants for Virgin Wines when they spied Ewan on Monday.

Mrs Hannant, from Eaton, said: 'We found out he was doing a film in Norwich and we thought we would try to spot him. It was so crazy. Timing was everything.'

She said as they walked by the main gate of the cathedral they saw Ewan.

'We ran like a couple of teenagers when we saw Ewan. It was about 4pm and he had just finished filming.

'There were a lot of school children there as well. We both got our work diaries signed. It made our day.'

She said Ewan was 'even better looking in real life,' and yesterday she was planning to return to the cathedral with Miss Gibbs to see if she could get her copy of Moulin Rouge signed.

Miss Gibbs, from Old Catton said: 'We were so lucky. We looked down the gate and thought,'that must be him!'

'He seemed really happy to be there and really welcoming.

'I passed him my diary and as he was signing it I got pushed by the crowd. He looked at me, put his hand up and asked everyone to be careful. I've now got half a signature and a whole signature by Ewan McGregor!'

Miss Gibbs said there were about 50 people crowded around Ewan and that he signed autographs for a couple of minutes.

'I cannot believe how close we were to him,' she said.

'He was so nice. He would look at you and smile as you handed him something to sign. Everyone was saying how much they liked his films and he said thank you.'

Twelve-year-old Norwich School student Bob Ekbery, a massive Star Wars fan from the south of the city, was also in the crowd on Monday and he got a high five from the star.

He said: 'We were all gathering around him in a crowd. I did not have any paper so I decided to high five him instead. I said hi and he said hi back.

'It was really cool to high five someone famous and I cannot wait to see the film.'

Martin Ivory also contacted the Evening News to say he had seen Ewan and his little dog in the city on Monday.

Yesterday afternoon a small group of fans also got the chance to meet the star as he left the cathedral after the second day of filming. Ewan stopped to sign autographs and pose for pictures before getting into a waiting car along with his dog, and as the car drove off he looked back and waved to the delighted fans.

The Evening News yesterday asked the star how filming was going but he politely said he was unable to talk to the media about the film at the moment.

Jack the Giant Killer is being made by Red Lion Films and it is described as a modern day fairytale in which the long-standing peace between men and giants is threatened as a young farmer leads an expedition into the giants' kingdom in hope of rescuing a kidnapped princess.

Filming began at the cathedral on Monday and will continue until Friday, and also on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Most of the cathedral is closed to the public while filming takes place, but the east end of the cathedral remains open to the public for services and private prayer.

Jack the Giant Killer is due for release next year.

• Have you seen Ewan McGregor or any of his co-stars in Norwich? Call reporter Emma Knights on 01603 772428 or email emma.knights@archant.co.uk