DOCTOR Who fans in the North-East are holding a fancy dress party tonight to celebrate the return of the cult television show.

Gordon Muir and Andy Waterhouse, of Norton, Stockton, on Teesside, will dress as characters from the BBC sci-fi programme for the first episode tonight, starring Shallow Grave and Cracker actor Christopher Ecclestone as the ninth doctor.

It is over 15 years since the time lord was last in a new series on our screens - although Paul McGann starred as the Doctor in a one-off movie in 1996.

Gordon Muir, 43, buys and sells Doctor Who paraphernalia on an Internet auction site and has thousands of pounds worth of comics, videos and models from the show.

He dressed as a Zygon to get in the mood.

He said: "I think this will be a godsend and get another generation of young ones into Doctor Who.

"This is a really big day for a lot of people because the conventions are always jam-packed with anoraks - everyone wants to get their hands on Doctor Who stuff.

"I am used to rickety sets, but I think this will be the end of one era of Doctor Who and the start of another with all the new special effects."

Andy Waterhouse, 38, dressed as his favourite doctor, Patrick Troughton, complete with dickie bow tie, a Beatles wig, a woolly hat, checked trousers and a musical recorder.

He is inviting friends to his house for food and drinks while watching, then discussing, the first new episode.

Mr Waterhouse said: "I am very much looking to it but I hope it lives up to all the hype. We have been waiting for this to happen for so long. It is like a dream come true."

* Read a Who fan's review of the show in Monday's Northern Echo.