Doctor Who Christmas special to be shown in north of England first

Doctor Who fans in the north of England will get a chance to see the show’s Christmas special ahead of the rest of the UK.

The festive episode, called Twice Upon a Time, will be shown in eight cities throughout the north before its Christmas Day TV broadcast on BBC One.

The screenings will take place between 14 and 22 December in the following venues:

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Hartlepool Town Hall

The Guild Hall, York

Jubilee Church, Hull

St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle

The Middlesbrough Empire

MediaCityUK, Salford,

Durham School

The old Odeon, Bradford

Free tickets will be distributed by ballot - fans can enter the draw here.

Northern cinema audiences will also get sneak previews of the new series of black comedy The League of Gentlemen and an adaptation of Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson’s children’s book The Highway Rat as part of the BBC North Preview Screening Tour.

A BBC spokesman said the screenings were part of the broadcaster’s “long-term commitment to doing more in northern England”.

Northern Whovians were thrilled by the news:

But their southern counterparts weren’t so amused:

The Doctor Who Christmas special is Peter Capaldi’s last adventure before handing over the reins to Broadchurch star Jodie Whittaker, who will become the first-ever female Doctor.

The episode will see Capaldi’s Time Lord join forces with the cantankerous First Doctor - David Bradley, in the role played by William Hartnell in the original 1960s series - and a stranded WW1 captain (Mark Gatiss), says Den of Geek.

However, there is a catch: the advance screenings will not include the regeneration scene at the end of the episode, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Fans will have to wait for the TV broadcast on Christmas Day to see Capaldi’s Doctor disappear and re-emerge as Whittaker.