A reel success story
Tyneside Cinema’s star-studded live series Desert Island Flicks has sold out every event in its first year.
The box office at Tyneside Cinema is celebrating after the venue’s Desert Island Flicks series clocked up a 100% sell out record.
Launched in summer 2025, the live event series has quickly become one of the cinema’s most popular offerings, welcoming more than 850 people over its first four editions.
Guests so far have included James Purefoy, Stewart Lee, Bill Bailey and, most recently, Christopher Eccleston.
Hosted by actor and comedian Dave Johns, best known for his role in I, Daniel Blake, the format sees guests share the films which have shaped their lives and careers, blending clips, conversation and audience interaction to create something more intimate than a standard Q&A.
Christopher Eccleston, whose event took place earlier this week, said: "The great thing about cinema is that a film can stay with you for decades and still reveal something new every time you watch it. That's what made Desert Island Flicks such a fascinating conversation.
“Tyneside Cinema is a special place, and the Newcastle audience brought warmth, humour and a genuine love of film to the evening."
Nic Greenan, chief executive of Tyneside Cinema, said: “Four events, four sell-outs is a fantastic result and a real testament to the appetite for this kind of event in the North East.
“We’ve welcomed some incredible guests in our first year and it’s been wonderful to see audiences respond so enthusiastically. We’re excited to continue building the series and bringing more well-known creative voices to Newcastle in the future.”
“The great thing about cinema is that a film can stay with you for decades and still reveal something new every time you watch it,” said Eccleston. “That’s what made Desert Island Flicks such a fascinating conversation.”
The next guest has already been announced, with acclaimed actress Brenda Blethyn due to take part on July 27.
Meanwhile Christopher Ecclestone is back on stage in Newcastle this weekend, performing The Name of That Song, a rarely heard monologue by Peter Flannery, writer of Our Friends in the North, at Live Theatre.