Doctor Who series 8 first episode to screen in cinemas worldwide

'Deep Breath' will open the next run on the same day it airs on BBC One

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman will star in Doctor Who series 8 in August (BBC)

The first episode of Doctor Who series 8 is to be screened in cinemas worldwide on the same day it airs on BBC One.

Peter Capaldi takes up the mantle as the twelfth Time Lord in the hit sci-fi drama’s next run, while Jenna Coleman will be back as his companion Clara.

Feature-length opening story “Deep Breath”, directed by Ben Wheatley and written by showrunner Steven Moffat, can be seen on 23 August and will also feature the return of the Paternoster Gang.

The global screenings follow the box office success of 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor in 2013, which reached.

“Last November, the Doctor didn’t just conquer the world on television, he did it in the cinemas too,” said Moffat in an official BBC statement.

“Like the show off he is, he can’t resist another go – one taste of the silver screen is never enough. Movie-land beware – Capaldi is coming to get you!”

Information on participating cinemas has been promised shortly, with the first screening set for 7 August in Cardiff, where the series is filmed.