A Suffolk town’s theatre and cinema is kicking off its 80th birthday celebrations with the premiere of the new Dad’s Army film.

Stowmarket’s Regal Theatre will be premiering the film, which is based on the popular BBC sitcom, on Friday, February 5 at 2.30pm.

Ticket holders will walk the red carpet, and in keeping with the film, will enjoy a nice cup of tea and a piece of birthday cake on arrival.

The film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bill Nighy and Michael Gambon.

David Marsh, manager of the Regal, said: “We’ve been looking forward to this film for a long time, obviously most film premières are in the evening, but we wanted to make this one a bit more accessible to some of our older customers who’ve been supporting us for a long time and prefer to come to our matinee screenings.

“We’re really pleased that a number of local dignitaries have agreed to come along to help us celebrate 80 years of entertaining Stowmarket and we’ll also be raising money for the Royal British Legion.”

The Regal was built in 1936 as a 600-seat cinema and was run by V.E.H Cinemas Ltd on the old Dukes Head Meadow. Stowmarket Town Council saved the theatre from closure in 1972 and added a stage, bar and dressing rooms. 2015 was the venue’s busiest year on record with almost 64,000 admissions.

Tickets for the premiere will go on sale on Friday at 1pm, priced at £5.95 each.

For more information, and to book tickets for the premiere, visit www.regalstowmarket.co.uk or call 01449 612825.