Travellers to flock for Doctor Who exclusive

Published on Thursday 14 July 2011 12:37

IT'S set to be this summer's hottest ticket in Edinburgh, and it's not even part of the Fringe or International Festival.

One of the year's quickest sell-outs is set to be a preview of the first episode of the next series of Doctor Who at the Filmhouse cinema.

The screening on August 26 will be part of the International Television Festival, and with tickets due to go on sale either today or early next week, box office staff are bracing themselves for huge demand.

The episode, Let's Kill Hitler, written by Steven Moffat, is the first of Doctor Who's second 2011 season, which won't screen on BBC1 until later in the year .

The cinema's programme and marketing coordinator Jenny Leask said: "We knew it would be a sell-out for sure.

"Even before we'd announced anything, someone must have leaked it from the TV Festival, because we've had people asking for the past week.

"I'm currently working on putting tickets up for all of our coming programme, so they should be on sale today or early next week. I'll announce it on Twitter and Facebook when we're ready to put them on sale."

So far there are no plans for the programme's stars, Matt Smith and former Telford College student Karen Gillan, to make an appearance, but there will be no shortage of excitement, as fans are expected to flock from far and wide see it.

Ms Leask said: "There aren't any special guests confirmed at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if people come a long way to see it.

"I think there's a lot of very dedicated fans out there and getting to see it early is going to be very exciting.

"I just hope they don't give away too much on the internet afterwards."

The programme details for the screening read: "In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in 1930s Berlin, bringing the Doctor face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler. The Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities - and, in doing so, learns a harsh lesson in the cruelest warfare of all." The screening takes place on Friday, August 26 at 4.45pm.

The Filmhouse is also hosting several other screenings during the television festival. On August 27, it will show the first in the second series of Danish crime thriller The Killing, followed by a Q&A with senior producer Piv Bernth and actress Sofie Grabol.

The same day it will also show The Hunt, starring Stephen Mangan as Tony Blair, who goes on the run when he is wanted for murder.