Guests from science and showbiz, including actor Benedict Cumberbatch and TV scientist Professor Brian Cox, paid their respects to Professor Stephen Hawking at a Westminster Abbey memorial on Friday.

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Cumberbatch, who played the renowned theoretical physicist in BBC film Hawking, gave a reading during the service. Astronaut Tim Peake and Prof Hawking's collaborator and Nobel prize winner Kip Thorne also read tributes.

Stars David Walliams, Piers Morgan and musician Nile Rodgers were among those who joined members of the public to celebrate the life of the scientist.

Guests were welcomed to the abbey in central London by volunteers from the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

The memorial saw Hawking's ashes buried between fellow great scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Hawking will also be marked with a memorial stone inscribed with his most famous equation that described the entropy of a black hole.

An original score from composer Vangelis – with a voice-over by Hawking in the middle – was beamed into space from the European Space Agency satellite dish at Ceberos in Spain during the service. In his voiceover, Hawking shared a message of peace and hope, his daughter Lucy said.

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Prof Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in his 20s, died aged 76 on 14th March this year.

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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