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Doctor Who Christmas special to be shown in north of England first
Advance screenings planned in eight cities as part of BBC plan to ‘do more in northern England’
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
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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.
