Stage version of David Walliams' Grandpa's Great Escape heading to North East for dates at Utilita Arena

David Walliams, who has said he "couldn't be more excited" as his bestselling children's book Grandpa's Great Escape has been adapted for the stage and will tour the UK later this year. Picture by Nick Ansell/PA Wire

The lavish production follows the television version of the book, which aired on BBC One in December 2018, and will feature an elaborate set including a tank and a Spitfire.

The show will be directed by Sean Foley, who helmed The Catherine Tate Show Live, and the book has been adapted by Kevin Cecil, who previously worked with Walliams on Little Britain and the Gangsta Granny television film.

Walliams said: "Grandpa's Great Escape Live is an incredible new development for the book.

"We're not just turning it into a live show, but into a spectacular live arena show for all the family this Christmas.

"Being in arenas means we can have a life-size Spitfire, a tank, the London landscape and a dramatic escape from the Imperial War Museum.

"It's great because we can really go to town with all of those elements and this story demands that scale.”

The show will see arenas around the UK transformed into London and its landmarks, including Buckingham Palace and the River Thames, as Grandpa's life size Spitfire soars through the sky over the capital.

The production will come to Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on January 2 2020 with two performances.

The set for this multimillion-pound production has been created by entertainment architects Stufish Productions, who have worked with Cirque du Soleil, Beyonce & Jay Z, Madonna and The Rolling Stones.

The show will begin in Birmingham on December 23 before travelling to London, Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Liverpool.