High School Musical mania gripped a movie premiere last night as the stars of the Disney phenomenon -- led by heart-throb Zac Efron -- turned out in force.

Pin-ups Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu were joined by dancers and basketball players on the red carpet as High School Musical 3 -- being released in Ireland on October 22 -- was premiered in London's Leicester Square.

Hudgens (19) said she was "amazed" by the number of fans that turned out to see the cast make their appearance.

"We came here for the first premiere, so coming back and seeing how many more people came and how much of a bigger deal it is, is amazing," Hudgens told the BBC.

It was like modern-day Beatlemania as young girls turned out to see 20-year-old heartthrob Efron -- who plays basketball player Troy Bolton in the film series.

High School Musical 3 -- the latest in the smash hit series -- follows the pressures of being in the final year of high school before going off to college.

KISS

Fans will also get to see the two lead characters kiss for the first time in the film's series.

"I've always admired that about them, it builds up the tension and finally in High School Musical 3 it feels well deserved," said Efron on why it had taken so long for the long-awaited scene to happen.

"It's about time -- we're seniors, we're adults," he said.

Hudgens, who stars as maths whizz and love interest Gabriella Montez, added: "It just shows their respect for each other -- it's a really sweet and innocent love that doesn't need everything else."

The film also introduces British teen actress Jemma McKenzie-Brown as a new character, Tiara Gold.

"I had a fantastic time -- they welcomed me into the cast right away," the 13-year-old said.

Co-stars Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu both said they were sad to see the end of their High School Musical journey.

"It's hard because we love working together and this project is the last chapter for us, but I'm excited to see what the future holds," Tisdale said.

Corbin Bleu added: "It was sad to move away from the halls of East High but it's good to be able to graduate and move on to some new projects."

GENERATION

But with all the cast dodging questions on whether reports of a fourth installment are true, director Kenny Ortega said he remained hopeful.

"If these kids are still reacting this way after High School Musical 3, I think it would be fun to try to imagine how we would do it for the next generation," he said.

This is the first cinematic release for the series -- the first two installments were made-for-TV movies, which were initially screened on the Disney Channel.

- Jane Last