TOURISM in York and North Yorkshire is set to win a late season boost following the British premiere of a film version of Brideshead Revisited next week.

The owners of Castle Howard near Malton, which plays a starring role in the movie, are hoping it will lead to a late season rise in visitor numbers after summer gate receipts were hit by bad weather.

Simon Howard said after the “iconic” TV dramatisation of Brideshead Revisited in the early 1980s, the number of visitors soared by 35 per cent.

“In September, we have already had an uplift in visitor numbers, which may be down to the enormous amount of pre-publicity and we would hope this will continue for the rest of the season after the film is launched. Unfortunately, we are only open until Sunday, November 2, but we will be re-opening in the weeks before Christmas.”

He said there had been other benefits from the making of the film, including the partial restoration of several rooms damaged by a fire in 1940.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of Visit York, said she also hoped there might be benefits for tourism in the city, as extra people visiting Castle Howard would probably go on to visit York as well.

She said: “It’s great news when a major production like Brideshead Revisited has been filmed at one of York’s major attractions. The kind of high-profile media coverage, which is generated from a film like this is fantastic news for York. We hope to see an increase in visitor numbers to both Castle Howard and York as a result of this, which can only help to raise the profile of the city particularly to international audiences.”

The film’s premiere takes place in London on Monday. A spokeswoman for film-makers Walt Disney said Monday’s premiere at the Chelsea Cinema in London would be attended by stars including Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell and Ben Whishaw. She said the film had had a “strong run” in America, with most of the reviews positive.

It will open to the public on the following Friday, with a private screening at Castle Howard next Wednesday.

The opening at York’s City Screen cinema will include a talk at 5.25pm by Castle Howard curator Dr Christopher Ridgway.

He will discussing whether Evelyn Waugh had Castle Howard in mind when he wrote Brideshead Revisited and why the movie producers chose to return to Castle Howard to film the story there for a second time.

Dr Ridgway will also lead an exclusive morning at Castle Howard on October 16, looking at the old and new films of Brideshead and discussing the parallels between the fictional Marchmains featured in the novel and the Howard family.

Tickets, including morning coffee and lunch, cost £45, or £35.50 for annual pass-holders.