Wigan Comic Con was out of this world

A host of high-profile guests made the trip to Robin Park Sports and Tennis Centre for the popular event which enjoyed a packed line-up.

Other news: Wigan mum horrified to find drug addicts' used needles in streetVisitors included Paul McGann, who played the eighth Timelord in Doctor Who, Kai Owen from Torchwood and Hattie Hayridge from Red Dwarf.

The sports centre was transformed into a riot of colour as many Wiganers dressed in the outfits of their favourite characters and there was also a cosplay competition for the most impressive costume.

In recent years a number of Comic Con events have been held across the borough but organiser Paul Prescott says he has scaled back his operations in 2019 to ensure this weekend’s event, the original Comic Con for the borough, was the biggest and best it could be.

He said: “We really focused on the Wigan one this year. It’s a bigger venue so we could have more spectacular stuff and we could also sell more tickets to book bigger guests. Paul McGann came and someone who’s a massive Doctor Who fan flew all the way from Australia just to see him.

“The plan is to do fewer events in the future so we can continue improving them. We want to bring bigger names to Wigan as guests.”

As well as getting to meet some of the stars of the silver and small screens there were a host of activities for comics and sci-fi enthusiasts of all ages to enjoy.

Fans met robot Johnny 5 from Short Circuit while lovers of classic nail-biting films summoned up the nerve to look at a big Jaws display where photos could be taken of visitors inside the shark’s mouth and fantasy enthusiasts enjoyed a mock-up of platform nine and three quarters from the Harry Potter books and movies.

Artist Nigel Parkinson showed off his skills and visitors could experience hi-tech Decilus virtual reality equipment.

For more pictures see this week’s Wigan Observer.