Sci-Fi Scarborough Returns To The Spa For Its Twelfth Year

Fans of science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal are preparing to descend on the Yorkshire Coast this weekend as Sci-Fi Scarborough returns for its twelfth consecutive year.

The unconventional convention, known as Sci-Fi Scarborough, will take place at the Scarborough Spa on Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of April 2026.

Running from 11am until 4pm on both days, the event spans eight different areas of the Victorian venue, offering fans a full weekend of guest stars, gaming, props, publishers, and comic books.

The family-friendly event will also feature a Geek Pub Quiz, a cosplay competition, and appearances from guest artists including Dan Mumford, Sophie Bland, The Art Of Fish, and Lee Bradley.

Co-organiser Steve Dickinson reflected on the event's history and its post-pandemic recovery:

"We've been going for 12 years now since 2014 and we've tried to grow it a little bit. So you've got to gradually build it up and and get people's confidences as an event because there's a lot of an events of that this style around the country and you want people to choose yours over others. And you've got to give them reasons to do that and obviously we've been doing that for a long time now and since Covid we've had to rebuild again, which has been fun, but but yeah, we seem to have everyone back on side now and it seems to be it seems to be hitting a peak that it was previously hitting in 2019. So we're quite happy with that."

The convention is known for attracting stars from major television and film franchises. This year's lineup includes Paul McGann and Janet Fielding from Doctor Who, alongside Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf. Star Wars fans can look forward to meeting Femi Taylor, Trevor Butterfield, and Duncan Pow.

Steve explained the process of selecting the special guests for the convention:

"Every year we must have some Doctor Who guests. It's very popular with the the people and fans and the geeks of of England and people come from all over the country to come and meet a doctor or an assistant or a an alien or whatever. And also Star Wars is very popular as well. So we tend to focus on those two franchises. But we're open to others as well. Red dwarf, Star trek, Stargate.

We've got Paul McGann coming, the eighth doctor, Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf, we've got Femi Taylor from Return of the Jedi, Duncan Pow from Rogue One and Andor. Janet Fielding, Tegan Jovanka from Doctor Who and Trevor Butterfield from Return of the Jedi.

We try to introduce new stuff every year new guests to keep it interesting for everyone."

A brand new feature for this year's event is 'The Evidence Room', an area dedicated to discussing UFOs and the paranormal with experts including Ian Linford, Jordan Lapping, and Iain Hunter.

Steve Dickinson highlighted the local experts leading the new paranormal panel:

"Paul Sinclair who's a local UFO expert, very respected throughout the world. He's very knowledgeable and he's on TV quite a bit on various shows especially Ancient Aliens and stuff he's filming stuff with them at the moment. So his his stocks on the up.

And we've got James Koppert who's our local ghost hunter and paranormal expert. We've got a room called the evidence room and they're all going to be in it and you can wander in, have a chat with them and talk all things UFO and paranormal. And then they're going to do a panel talk on the Saturday.

I don't think anyone's done this at a convention before. So it's blurring the lines between reality and sci-fi which we like to do as well. So we're really looking forward to that."

Beyond the guest panels, the Scarborough Spa will be filled with interactive experiences, including Astromechs and Daleks roaming the halls.

Steve shared his excitement about the immersive attractions and cosplayers attending this weekend:

"Dalek Earth Force always a joy to have around terrorising everyone, chasing kids around, scaring mums. These guys are great. The Dalek Earth Force team with with the Davros as well. And we've got the Con captain coming this year, Captain Jack Barrowman cosplayer he was a lot of fun. I've seen a few of his videos on on social media.

Yeah, we've got a lot going on this year. You know, the droid builders are back, we've got a full cosplay team and a day of cosplay, the body painters are coming back. With there's just tons going on as usual. And of course Mando will be out the front, the Mandalorian riding up and down on his speeder bike and showing you the way, basically."

The event has garnered high praise within the industry, with STARBURST magazine noting that Sci-Fi Scarborough stands out from the crowd thanks to a combination of a great venue and a very strong, community-minded ethos.

Reviewer Paul Ferry from Omnibus also described it as a fun, adventurous, and relaxed convention for all the family, urging fans to attend rather than plunging into coldly corporate events.

In a final statement looking ahead to the weekend, Mr Dickinson said:

"Its been an absolutely pleasurable experience organising SFS for a dozen years now, we have a solid team who turn up year in year out and make it happen, we just couldn't do it without them, thanks to all that buy the tickets too, it's greatly appreciated! We've put together another fun packed event for everyone to enjoy with a fantastic roster of guests, see you all there."

Sci-Fi Scarborough runs on Saturday 18th April from 11am to 5pm and Sunday 19th April from 11am to 4pm at Scarborough Spa.

Tickets are available on the door or at https://scifiscarborough.co.uk/event/sci-fi-scarborough-2026/