'Wish you were here, Carrie' says Mark Hamill

Hamill was speaking after he and Fisher were awarded one of Disney’s highest honours, being named Disney Legends at the company’s fan convention in Anaheim, California.

He said: “Well, I wish Carrie were here.

“She would be making me laugh and be off camera extending her middle finger – one of her favourite gestures.

“I really wish she were here,” he added. “But, she would also want us to be having a good time and not be sad.”

Oprah Winfrey and Marvel comics legend Stan Lee were among the other recipients of the award.

Star Wars creator George Lucas had his turn in 2015.

Hamill, 65, told the crowd that he still had not managed to get his head around news of the award.

“When they told me, I said: ‘Are you sure they’re not wanting Mark Harmon or Jon Hamm or even Dorothy Hamill?'” he said.

Hamill played Luke Skywalker in the popular films and will reprise the role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is to be released in December.

Fisher will appear as his sister Leia Organa.

Fisher, daughter of actor Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, died from sleep apnoea and other causes.

Just before her death she had been returning from England after filming the third season of sitcom Catastrophe.

She became unresponsive and died in hospital four days later on 27 December.

The day after her death, Reynolds suffered a stroke and died, aged 84.