John Boyega and Daisy Ridley chatted about EastEnders during Star Wars shoot

One of the young Britons playing a leading role in the new Star Wars movie has revealed he chatted about EastEnders on set as he walked the red carpet at the film's European premiere.

John Boyega, who grew up in Peckham, south-east London, plays redeemed stormtrooper Finn in Stars Wars: The Force Awakens, which is set to become the biggest blockbuster of the year.

Speaking in London's Leicester Square, the 23-year-old said he and fellow British newcomer Daisy Ridley would discuss the much-loved BBC soap during breaks in filming.

Boyega said: "We are Londoners. We would film on the Millennium Falcon and then go downstairs and talk about EastEnders. We are definitely Londoners and I enjoyed this experience."

Boyega said the new film "brings back the Stars Wars you knew" and "carried on the legacy of the new generation and the old generation".

But he said he was more interested in the fans' reaction to the movie than any potential best picture Oscar nomination.

"An Oscar nomination?" he said. "I haven't read any reviews yet so I don't have clarity on the whole thing. But I would like to see how the fans feel, more importantly."

Londoner Ridley, who plays the film's heroine Rey, said she was "excited" to bring the film back to the UK after filming scenes at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

She said: "We filmed here so this kind of feels like home to all of us. All of the creators are very pleased to be back, as are we."

Asked whether the original cast members passed on any advice about coping with her newfound fame, Ridley replied: "Carrie (Fisher) told me something inappropriate that I can't repeat.

"Everyone's just like; 'Enjoy it, life's ok.' It's all good."

Fellow Briton Simon Pegg, who has a cameo role in the new Star Wars film and plays Scotty in the rebooted Star Trek movies, said he believed any rivalry between the two series was a "myth".

"I love them both. I don't think you need to pick," he said.

"There's this whole kind of tribalism. People like to perpetuate this myth that you have to pick one or the other, it's not true.

"We're adults, we can like what we like."