A SEASIDE town's pier was the venue for a celebrity wedding at the weekend as novelist Esther Freud married her long-term partner, actor David Morrissey.

By David Green

A SEASIDE town's pier was the venue for a celebrity wedding at the weekend as novelist Esther Freud married her long-term partner, actor David Morrissey.

Between 80 and 100 people - some of them actor friends of the couple - packed into a room at the end of Southwold Pier for a civil ceremony followed by Champagne and canapés.

The couple and guests were drenched by a sudden shower as they walked down the pier before the ceremony.

But all had dried off well in time for the reception - held in a giant dome erected on the lawn of the bride's aunt and uncle, Sir Clement and Lady Jill Freud, at Walberswick.

Ms Freud, the daughter of the painter, Lucien Freud and his former partner, Bernadine Freud , who lives at Ubbeston, near Halesworth, trained as an actress and has written scripts and appeared in various productions on stage and television.

Her debut novel, Hideous Kinky, which evoked the bohemian childhood of two young children accompanying their mother in 1960s Morocco, was made into a film.

Mr Morrissey is best known for starring with Sharon Stone in the film Basic Instinct 2, and this year's television series Viva Blackpool, about seedy characters behind the resort's glitz.

Mike Snell, Southwold Pier spokesman, said the wedding was the latest of a series held at the venue over the past few years.

“They got a drenching on the way down the pier but they all took it all in good spirit,” he said.

The marriage ceremony was conducted by Alan Reynolds, a registrar, who lives in Ipswich.

Members of the Freud family said last night they did not wish to comment on the wedding but friends said it had been a “fantastic” occasion.