MALTON’S Palace Cinema is to open a third screen – with just 12 seats.

The move follows the success of the venue with recent sell-out screenings of Les Miserables, Quartet and Lincoln.

Jeremy Powell, who owns the cinema with his wife, Caroline, said they had a great year in prospect.

“We are desperate for screens and the only thing to do is to use the lounge as a full commercial screen,” he said.

“No one in their right mind would spend this amount on a full commercial cinema screen of this size but we have so many films to fit in and so little space.”

Jeremy added: “We want to be able to keep some films longer than we might otherwise, and fit in others that we get requests for. This will mean we can keep films longer and offer more choice to our discerning audience.”

A former engineer for the BBC, Jeremy took over the Palace Cinema in 2002 following a life-long dream to own and run a cinema.

He said the Palace Cinema prided itself on service and quality of what is shown and how it is shown.

“This new initiative is an example of the Palace continuing to build on this quality and increasing choice,” said Jeremy.

“A small cinema in a market town, the Palace has led the way with digital projection since 2006, when it also became a two-screen cinema.

“We have recently introduced performances live by satellite from the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre and they are very appreciative of the Palace Cinema and its team.”

Jeremy said that over the next few months, the Palace would screen live performances of Nabucco, Eugene Onegin and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on stage at the National Theatre.

“The Palace is set to continue growing as the place of choice for entertainment to a wide area around Malton and Norton,” he said.

“What started as my lifetime ambition has become a thriving talked- about reality of an entertainment venue.”