MALTON’S annual Dickensian Festival returns next weekend to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the author’s most famous festive story.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has had a long association with the town with Scrooge’s famous Counting House said to be based on an office in Chancery Lane.

This year’s festival presents a behind the scenes look at the ways A Christmas Carol influenced storytelling and more specifically, the adventures of Time Lord Doctor Who.

Author and producer Gavin Collinson worked on Doctor Who for almost a decade with 11 Doctors, and will use clips and first-hand anecdotes at this family event at 6pm on Saturday, December 15 at the Wesley Centre in Saville Street.

Gavin said: “These British storytelling stalwarts share a very big heart.

"The Doctor and Dickens both celebrate humane qualities, such as kindness, tapping into the true meaning of Christmas, so I hope audiences leave inspired and uplifted.”

The event also features a Q&A hosted by author, broadcaster and the great, great, great grand-daughter to Charles Dickens, Lucinda Hawksley.

The evening continues with the acclaimed One Man Show, Mr Charles Dickens Presents A Christmas Carol, at 7.30pm in The Milton Rooms with actor John O’Connor.

On Sunday, December 16, Lucinda Hawksley returns to the Talbot Hotel at 1pm for a luncheon talk celebrating 175 years of A Christmas Carol.

She said: “When Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in December of 1843, the story was intended as a protest against the injustices of the world he lived in, the legacy of the story continues to have an impact on the world.”

The festival concludes with A Christmas Carol in Concert at 7.30pm on Friday, December 21 at the Milton Rooms with modern-day balladeers, Green Matthews.

To book visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/doctor-who-and-a-christmas-carol-tickets-52604411210

To book events at the Milton Rooms phone 01653 600048.

For more information go to www.dickensgifttoyorkshire.com