THE original Darth Vader has told how he is looking forward to meeting fans at a major film and comics event at the age of 80.

Bournemouth Film and Comic Con takes place on the weekend of August 29-30 at the BIC, featuring stars from the likes of The Terminator, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.

Dave Prowse, who wore Darth Vader's mask for the original Star Wars trilogy, said he was still enjoying meeting fans around the world.

“I love it. It’s amazing. When you consider Star Wars was filmed in 1976, I think to myself the following that I’ve got worldwide is incredible,” he said.

The Bristol-born former weightlifting champion still works out for 90 minutes every other day in his home gym.

“I’ve just had my 80th birthday but I decided I wanted to be in the best possible shape I could be at the age of 80,” he said.

He recalled the day Darth Vader entered his life. “I got a phone call from George Lucas and he said ‘I’d like to talk to you about this film I’m doing’.

“I said ‘Excuse me asking, but who are you?’ “He said ‘I’m doing this movie called Star Wars and I’d like you to play the main villain’. That was basically it.

“People used to say to me ‘What’s this movie like that you’re doing?’ I would say ‘I don’t know, it seems a right old load of rubbish’. I really had no idea.”

He says he was filming Star Wars when he was approached about becoming the Green Cross Man, the superhero who appeared in road safety adverts until 1990.

“That to me was the best job I ever had. I used to go around schools and get talking about road safety,” he said.

“If you had time at the end of the talk, I used to say ‘Has anybody got any questions?’, thinking I’d get some questions about road safety. Every question was about Star Wars.

“It was hugely successful. I think we halved the road accident figures with that campaign.”

Darth Vader’s dialogue was dubbed by James Earl Jones – but a musician friend is giving Mr Prowse another shot at it.

“We’ve gone into his studio and re-recorded some of the Darth Vader dialogue,” he said.

“I think we’re going to put it out as a CD – just to prove I can speak.”

Other guests at Film and Comic Con include Michael Biehn of The Terminator and Aliens, former Doctors Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker, and Robert Englund of A Nightmare on Elm Street.