Two national treasures will be at the BFI London Film Festival today as Dame Maggie Smith and Olivia Colman attend screenings of their latest films.

Dame Maggie will make a rare walk down the red carpet at the UK premiere of The Lady in the Van, an adaptation of Alan Bennett’s play.

She’ll be joined by Bennett himself as well as Alex Jennings, who plays Bennett in the film, and director Nicholas Hytner.

Dame-in-waiting (because you know it will happen) Olivia Colman joins co-stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz at the gala screening of The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos’s strange fable that went down a storm at Cannes.

Also due at the premiere are Ben Wishaw, Ariane Labed, Michael Smiley and director Lanthimos.

I saw this yesterday, it’s a bit too clever and dark for me but there are some interesting questions raised by the story.