Kate Beckinsale was reportedly forced to postpone her performance at Tampa Bay Comic Con after an "overzealous fan" who has previously threatened the actress was detained at the venue.

According to editors at TMZ, Terry Lee Repp was arrested after being spotted by law enforcement officers before he could get close to the Underworld actress.

The 44-year-old actress was due to appear at the Tampa Convention Center for a Q&A panel on Saturday morning (29Jul17) but as a precautionary measure her appearance was pushed back to later that day.

It was feared that the 45-year-old who had been following Kate across the county over the past year, might harm her.

He had allegedly made physical contact at an event in Salt Lake City in 2016, where he had touched her back before threatening to stab her. He then approached her again in Houston and was detained by police.

TMZ reported that an officer recognized the man and arrested him before he was taken to Hillsborough County Jail, where he was charged with stalking.

Convention spokeswoman Jamie Kautzmann confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times there was an incident involving an "overzealous fan".

'We did have him escorted from the building, off the property, far away from here,' she told the news outlet.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, Repp has been following and harassing Kate for at least a year.

Police wrote he had "an irrational obsession" with the Van Helsing actress and had been "harassing her".

The police managed to block Repp before he approached the British actress but she still had to go to the station and file a police report.

During her rescheduled appearance, Kate signed autographs for fans and posed for photos.