THERE was great excitement in Inwardleigh last Saturday as the village hosted a hush-hush celebrity wedding. Stars of the small screen were among the guests invited to the service as Hannah Waterman, actress daughter of Minder star Dennis Waterman, tied the knot with former co-star Ricky Groves. The couple met on the set of BBC1 soap Eastenders where Hannah appeared as the character Laura Beale, while Ricky plays mechanic Garry Hobbs. Several current and former Eastenders stars, including Shane Ritchie, Todd Carty, Letitia Dean, Ian Lavender and June Brown attended the wedding. Hannah, 31, is the daughter of Dennis Waterman and his ex-wife Patricia Maynard ? she later married crown court judge Jeremy Griggs, and the couple, who live at Inwardleigh, hosted the reception. The wedding took place on Saturday at St Petroc?s, Inwardleigh?s small, charming 15th century church. The organ was played by Ian Cann, and the service was taken by the Rev Mark Thomas. Hannah was given away by Dennis Waterman in front of around 140 guests, many of them from the Eastenders cast. Mr Thomas confessed he had never watched an episode of Eastenders: ?As far as I was concerned, it was a nice wedding. I had met the couple beforehand and they were nice people. It was good to see people from the village coming in afterwards to look at the flowers, and showing an interest in what was going on.? Churchwarden Ken Williams said: ?It was the first wedding we have had in the church for two years. It was quite an event for the village. There were one or two people who were quite excited, but if you did not know the stars, you were not caught up with it so much.? Some villagers braved the rain and gathered outside to attempt to spot celebrities. June Brown, who plays Dot Cotton in the soap, spoke to local children and there was a big cheer for Shane Ritchie. Marquees were erected at the Griggs? home and guests enjoyed a firework display at around 10pm. The Griggs are well regarded locally, with Jeremy having played cricket locally. Drinkers at the Crossways Inn at Folly Gate may well have spotted Hannah and a number of her friends in the pub on the evening prior to the wedding. The happy couple are now on honeymoon but Hannah is expected to be on our screens again soon ? she has been filming for a role in The Bill, lined up later this year. Rights for pictures from the wedding were bought up by a glossy magazine, who hired a team of minders which stopped villagers catching a glimpse of the bride?s dress. Mr Williams said he had recieved a special request from Hannah to take part of the large floral display up to Wardhayes Retirement Home in Okehampton on the Monday after the service. Apples direct from the market stall in Albert Square and some flowers from the church will be raffled at a coffee morning in Okehampton this weekend. l Inwardleigh Ladies? Lunch Club will hold a coffee morning in Okehampton Church Hall this Saturday (September 9) from 9.30am, in aid of Children?s Hospice South West.
