Eddie Izzard made a splash in Grays town centre today when he hit the campaign trail wearing the finest clothes known to woman.

Mr Izzard was in town to support parliamentary candidate for Labour Polly Billington, who is fighting for the Thurrock MP seat.

Mr Izzard, famed for his surrealist comic stand-up and acting in various movies said: "I think people should vote. Nothing changes unless you vote – and Grays clearly needs all the help it can get."

“The people I’ve spoken to here have fantastic energy – they really want to talk about the issues.”

He also confirmed he would not be running for London Mayor till 2020 due to the need to tie up and 'consolidate' his show business career.

He said: "It took me a long time to build up my career at the start and I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to it before moving into politics full-time."

Mr Izzard is due to star in a new HBO drama, 'The Devil You Know', which is coming from the same people who produced Game of Thrones and Orange is the New Black.

Stanford-le-Hope resident Sue Marriott, 49, of Victoria Road, who popped out of work when she heard Eddie was in town, said: "He looks fantastic! He's lost so much weight. Now he's got better legs than me!"

Asked why he was cross-dressing for the campaign trail, Eddie said: "I am transgender! It is my genetic right as a human being to dress like a woman and if anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with the United Nations Court of Human Rights."

Eddie and Sue swapped dieting tips, with Eddie advising her to 'dump the sugar' if she wanted to lose weight.

Asked who she would be voting for, Ms Marriott added: “I’m completely split between Labour and UKIP on who to vote for – I’m undecided. I may have to not vote at all, which is terrible.”