Doctor Who series 8: First new episode to premiere in Cardiff three weeks before air date

Fans are able to purchase four tickets each for the special 7 August screening

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman will star in Doctor Who series 8 in August (BBC)

Fans of Doctor Who should head to Cardiff next month to catch the premiere of the first new episode of series eight.

“Deep Breath”, featuring Peter Capaldi as the twelfth Time Lord, will debut on 7 August in the Welsh capital, three weeks before it airs on BBC One.

Showrunner Steven Moffat, Capaldi and his co-star Jenna Coleman are due to attend the lunchtime showing at St David’s Hall before kicking off their promotional world tour.

The hit sci-fi drama has been made in Wales for almost ten years and, in return, fans are able to purchase four tickets each for the premiere from 10am today.

Anticipation for the forthcoming series has been rife in recent months but was heightened over the weekend by the release of another tense trailer.

The short 20-second clip shows an exploding Tardis console and the Doctor getting electrocuted as he picks up a phone while a voiceover, which sounds like megalomaniac Daleks creator Davros, says: “I see into your soul Doctor. I see beauty, divinity, hatred.”

Capaldi takes over from Matt Smith as the new Doctor and looks set to offer a darker and more mature twist on the iconic role.

“Like the Doctor himself, I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight,” the 56-year-old said of accepting the part.

Fans were given a glimpse of Capaldi in character in a 15-second teaser at the end of June. He can be heard asking from inside the Tardis, “Clara, be my pal, tell me: Am I a good man?”, to which Coleman replies: “I don’t think I know who the Doctor is anymore.”

Among those set to appear in the new series are Bad Education’s Michelle Gomez, Keeley Hawes, Frank Skinner and singer Foxes.