A NEW festival clearing the works of Charles Dickens is being launched in North Yorkshire this December.

Harry Potter film actress Miriam Margolyes is headlining the Malton festivities which will include Victorian street theatre, music, food, dance, horse and carriage rides, celebrity performances and talks throughout December.

The BAFTA-winning performer, whose one-woman show Dickens’ Women was nominated for an Olivier award, will perform on December 18 at the Milton Rooms.

“I am delighted to support this new Yorkshire festival,” she said.

“I fell in love with Dickens at school and would like to appeal to children, young people and adults alike to come and enjoy the spirit of ‘A Christmas Carol’.”

Joining Miriam will be one of the world’s leading Dickens’ scholars, Professor Michael Slater, who will be giving a talk about A Christmas Carol called A National Benefit.

Lucinda Hawksley, accomplished speaker, author and descendent of Dickens will host a festive lunch at the Talbot Hotel on December 19 when guests will be welcomed with a glass of Smoking Bishop - the original mulled wine recipe used by the author in ‘A Christmas Carol.’

The celebration of Charles Dickens’ legacy in Malton has been organized by the Malton Dickensian Festival team, who raised funds to "bring home" a rare, signed copy of A Christmas Carol in 2012 from a New York collector.

The book, the team believe, adds weight to the claim he based Scrooge’s Counting House on his friend Charles Smithson’s office in Malton’s Chancery Lane. Smithson was a young lawyer in Malton and Dickens was godfather to Smithson’s daughter Mary.

Broadcaster Selina Scott, part of the festival team, said:, “We really want the town to get behind our festival, it would be great if people could dress up to get into the spirit of things, we want this to be an annual event and attract visitors to Malton from far and wide.”

For more information visit maltondickensianfestival.com