CELEBRITY chef Gino D'Acampo brought Mill Hill's main shopping street to a stop on Thursday as he helped to relaunch a long-standing restaurant.

The King of the Jungle spent two hours signing copies of his new cookbook and posing for pictures with hundreds of fans, who queued for hours to see him.

He was helping to relaunch Sapori D'Italia restaurant in The Broadway, which closed in January after a pipe burst in a flat upstairs and flooded the restaurant.

Manager Giuseppe Motisi said: “It was a really great day. Gino was only supposed to stay for an hour but he was here for way longer because so many people turned up for him.

“It's the perfect way to relaunch the restaurant. We've been in The Broadway for 12 years so we have a lot of loyal customers, but we were worried after being closed for so long.”

Mr Motisi said the flood, which started in a flat above the restaurant, meant the whole place had to be refurbished, allowing the owners to bring a more “cosmopolitan” feel to it.

He added: “It's been a hard six months. We have lost some staff who have gone on to get other jobs but luckily most of our customers seem to be coming back.

“In a way, the flood allowed us to look at the restaurant and change it and update it. It seems to have been popular so far.”