THIS Christmas marks 175 years of Dickens’ most famous festive story, A Christmas Carol and Malton, the tale’s spiritual home, welcomes back its annual Dickensian Festival with a series of celebratory events.

On Saturday, December 15 at 6pm the BBC’s Doctor Who and Dickens embark on a festive adventure at the Wesley Centre. This behind-the-scenes talk looks at the ways A Christmas Carol influenced storytelling and more specifically, the adventures of everyone’s favourite Time Lord.

Author and producer, Gavin Collinson, worked on Doctor Who for almost a decade with 11 Doctors. Using clips and first-hand anecdotes, he takes you on an affectionate journey through time and space in this warm-hearted family event.

The event also features a Q&A with Gavin hosted by author, broadcaster Lucinda Hawksley, the great, great, great grand-daughter of Charles Dickens, as Gavin offers insights into how to become a writer for the BBC.

Later that evening the acclaimed one man show, Mr Charles Dickens presents A Christmas Carol, at 7.30pm in The Milton Rooms.

This Christmas, experience what it must have been like to be in the audience in the 1800s with this exciting production, adapted from Dickens own public reading scripts and eyewitness accounts. Actor, John O’Connor lives in Rochester where Dickens grew up and set many of his stories including Great Expectations and David Copperfield.

John said: “I’m delighted to be touring again in A Christmas Carol. Dickens himself toured all over the UK and America performing the story and it’s wonderful to follow in his legendary footsteps. .”

On Sunday, December, 16 Lucinda Hawksley, returns to the Talbot Hotel at 1pm for a luncheon talk.

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 21 December at The Milton Rooms. Modern-day balladeers, Green Matthews, take the well-loved festive adventure back to its Victorian fireside roots, with a vivid and evocative picture of Dickens’ world.

Musicians Chris Green and Sophie Matthews with special guest Jude Rees use a magical blend of new lyrics, traditional midwinter English folk tunes and carol melodies.

For more information go to www.dickensgifttoyorkshire.com