LEGENDARY actor Sir Ian McKellen officially opened the new extension to the Cotswold Playhouse on Friday before watching its production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

Sir Ian unveiled a plaque, toured the building, mingled with guests and congratulated the play's cast and crew.

He told a gathering of about 100 people: "I would like to say how magnificent the extension and alterations are.

"The building seems so seamless – it seems to have come together so beautifully."

Sir Ian also reassured the Cotswold Players that although he had acted in The Seagull several times, he was ‘in the worst production there has ever been of the play at the Royal Shakespeare Company’.

The £527,000 extension includes a new dance studio and rehearsal room, extra storage space, a new lounge and a new office.

Sir Ian, who has just finished a London showing of Waiting for Godot ahead of filming The Hobbit, came to Stroud as patron of the Little Theatre Guild.

Patrick Howell, former chairman of the Cotswold Players, said: "It was a real privilege to have him here.

"He is one of the greatest actors in the country at the moment, possibly in the world, and we are absolutely delighted."