A Dalek drew in the crowds at the 40th annual Jester Festival in Fortune Green, including a Doctor Who actress who couldn’t resist posing with the Doctor’s most famous foe.

The sun shone down on the weekend fair which brought hundreds to Fortune Green, despite competing with the ladies’ and men’s Wimbledon finals.

Musical, dance and drama performances on a stage on the green kept everyone entertained, with the Fortune Green all-comers choir and budding ballerinas from the West Hampstead School of Dance named as some of the highlights by organiser Cllr Flick Rea.

But people thronged to have their picture taken with the Dalek on Saturday, including actress Heather Downham, who was a member of the ‘Pink Army’ in a classic Doctor Who episode, as well as Cllr Rea herself.

She said: “It was a huge success. Saturday was heaving, with Sunday less so because of the tennis, but the weather was perfect and everyone loved it.

“As far was I was concerned, the highlight was the Dalek, which I absolutely loved.”

Camden mayor Jonathan Simpson visited the fair on Saturday, tweeting that he had “a good day,” despite thinking he may have been sun burned in the scorching summer temperatures, nearing 30 degrees centigrade on Sunday.

Face painting, storytelling, magic and puppetry were all on offer for the kids, with a £100 grand prize in the raffle for one lucky adult.

This year is the last when Camden Council will provide a funding grant for the festival, but Cllr Rea trusts that the council will continue to support the event through other means.

“People who remember coming as a child brought their children and they came from quite a distance,” she said. “My own children and grandchildren came from south London.

“It was a great opportunity to meet old friends and have a great time.

“Someone asked us why we didn’t have a big screen to watch Wimbledon on, but if we had ordered one six months ago, Andy Murray probably would have gone out in the fourth round!”