Almost 35,000 people have applied to see the Doctor Who festive episode BEFORE Christmas as part of the BBC’s special North of England screenings – and the ballot hasn’t even closed yet.

Advance previews of the Doctor Who Christmas episode will be shown in eight towns and cities in northern England, alongside the first two episodes of The League of Gentlemen’s 20th anniversary specials and children’s animation The Highway Rat.

Each location will be treated to at least one screening of the Doctor Who special, which will see Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor go on his last adventure in the Tardis. Titled Twice Upon a Time, this episode also stars Yorkshireman David Bradley who reprises his role as the First Doctor.

But even if you get a golden ticket to one of the screenings, you WON’T see the final scene of the episode – expected to be Jodie Whittaker’s regeneration as the Thirteenth Doctor – which will be saved for the big day.

The tour kicks off in Hartlepool on 14th December and speeds through York, Hull, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Salford and Durham, finishing in Bradford on 22nd December. Ticket holders will have access to the BBC red carpet and will be able to pose with props from the show – including the Daleks and the Tardis.

Tickets for the screenings will be allocated by a random draw of those who apply, with 45 per cent going to local postcodes, 45 per cent going to the surrounding county and 10 per cent available to the rest of the UK.

Fans who lose out in the ballot will have to wait impatiently until the episode airs on BBC1.

Bradley said: “It’s really exciting that Doctor Who fans in the north of England have the opportunity to see the Christmas special first. I really enjoyed playing the First Doctor and as I’m from Yorkshire, it’s extra special to me that the screenings are taking place in the north.”

Hartlepool and York will be treated to a dose of The League of Gentlemen straight after the Doctor Who episode, while in Hull and Newcastle there will also be daytime screenings of The Highway vat – starring the voices of David Tennant and Rob Brydon.

The ballot to apply for (free!) tickets closes on Sunday 3rd December