The film crew were situated in a dance hall in the middle of the pier when drummer Joe Nicholls, who had to abandon his drum kit, noticed black polythene coating over the windows.

The majority of people on the pier at the time were extras for the film, while Nicholls noted that the evacuation was relatively ordinary, with only a small scramble towards the end.

One theory for the cause was due to arc lights overheating,[4] while other sources noted that smoke canisters were used and plastic sheeting caught fire, with the flames, which could be seen from around 10 miles (16 km) away, quickly engulfing the wooden ballroom structure.

The iconic pier is now owned by Frederick Nash, director of Hampshire property firm Matchams South Coast, and partners Tony Marshall, a London lawyer, and Cambridgeshire stud farm proprietor David Moore.

At the beginning of November the pier was completely closed and fenced off by Portsmouth City Council as it was a danger to the public.

A couple of days later the council reopened the front of the pier, which included part of the arcade and other bits which are on land.

[6] Parts of the boat deck at the end of South Parade Pier broke off and washed up on Southsea beach after being battered by bad weather on the night of 5 February 2014.

[10] The final restoration works completed in November 2019 with the opening of a £200,000 rebuilt boat deck, the former being removed in 2014 due to storms.