Spectators who attended a sneak preview of the Olympic opening ceremony have been urged not to spoil the surprise for the rest of the world by keeping details of the eagerly-anticipated curtain raiser under wraps.

Games organisers last night asked thousands of people who were invited to a technical dress rehearsal of the £27 million spectacular to try and refrain from circulating any revealing pictures or videos taken inside the Olympic Stadium.

The ceremony's artistic director Danny Boyle reportedly addressed the audience and called on them to "save the surprise" ahead of Friday's showpiece by not posting any images on social networks.

The hashtag "#savethesurprise" was also emblazoned on giant screens inside the Olympic Stadium, according to people at the event, before trending globally on twitter.

Movie director Boyle and his creative team have done their best to keep details of the opening ceremony secret and it seemed that most spectators at last night's rehearsal followed their wishes by not revealing any of the show's big surprises.

Passengers heading to last night's event may have encountered difficulties getting there. People travelling on key Olympic routes endured delays as a series of problems hit Tube and light railway systems in London.

The first snag came on the Underground's Jubilee line at North Greenwich station close to the Olympic site at Stratford in east London.

The problem, due to a fault with the platform-edge doors which are a feature of this part of the line, led to long delays on Jubilee services in the early part of the rush hour.

The Olympic spirit was not only in the stadium itself last night though, as the Olympic torch took centre stage in an episode of EastEnders.

Character Billy Mitchell, played by Perry Fenwick, carried the torch through the streets of Walford during an eight-minute live section of the popular BBC soap.

The fictional area of East London, in reality a set at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, has the postcode E20, which is also the postcode for the real Olympic Village in Stratford.

Fenwick, dressed as an official torchbearer - minus his trainers after he was sent a pair of bunny slippers instead - launched the live insert by winking at the camera and saying: "Here we go!"

He was then looking visibly nervous before taking over the flame and running his 300 metres, flanked by the usual police guard for the torchbearer.

His route took him past some of the most famous landmarks in the soap, including The Queen Vic, cheered on by regular cast members including Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace, who play Alfie and Kat Moon.

A cast of around 450 extras was also on the set acting as the crowd.

At the end of his stint he handed over the flame before posing for photographers, telling them: "It's Billy Mitchell, 39, single and open to offers."