The latest movie blockbuster from the Marvel Studios franchise was filmed in Dagenham.

Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson, saw crews based at LondonEast-UK off Rainham Road South for six weeks.

Aurelia Thomas, location manager for the blockbuster, said: "It was an absolute pleasure filming in Dagenham."

The spy adventure sees Johansson play the character of Black Widow prior to her appearance as an avenger.

The movie has been hailed for embracing women's empowerment with a majority female cast of directors aiming to create a Marvel film more relatable to a female audience.

Crew members working on a female-focused film in Dagenham is of particular significance given the area's historic equal pay protests at Ford in 1968.

The borough's film office, Film LBBD, hosted the shoot during the summer of 2019.

Lisa Dee, head of film at Film LBBD, said: "This is a great example of global production choosing to film in Barking and Dagenham.

“Black Widow was particularly special for us to work on. The director Cate Shortland and production team had a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve and we were so pleased to be able to assist them.

"Personally, having a female cast and an amazing director at the helm – I was only sad not to be cast as a stand-in widow (next time maybe!)."

One of the buildings used for the set, building D37 at LondonEast-UK, has since been converted into research facility - UCL’s Pearl.

The town hall hailed the arrival of high profile films for creating more job opportunities for locals.

A former pupil at Dagenham Park School, Inam Choudhury, worked on the shoot as a trainee marshal.

By day three he was promoted to production assistant, working on Black Widow for the rest of the shoot.

Council leader, Cllr Darren Rodwell, said: "Barking and Dagenham used to be famous for making cars. Now we are the Hollywood of the capital."

Lighting and equipment on the shoot were supplied by MBS Lighting and studio owners Hackman Capital Partners (HCP) which are moving into the borough.

Darren Smith, managing director MBS Group UK and Europe, said: "It’s exciting to be working with Barking and Dagenham to share our industry understanding and help create opportunity, which stands to benefit the entire community."