KES star David ‘Dai’ Bradley has returned to the big screen after more than 50 years to help officially open the town's new Cineworld cinema.The Billy Casper actor features with other homegrown stars sculptor Graham Ibbeson, Chocolat film author Joanne Harris and YouTuber Lee Hinchcliffe in a short film celebrating the arrival of the 13 screen cinema.They also feature as celebrity cinemagoers on posters heralding the start of a new era for film fans in the town which now includes its own huge laser IMAX screen.
Dai returned the compliment with a signed Kes poster now on display in the foyer.
The 2,186 seat Cineworld cinema also boasts a 270° projection ScreenX theatre, which surrounds viewers, plus an exhilarating 4DX sensory cinema, with moving seats, water, wind, fog, scent and strobe lighting effects.
Instead of a ribbon cutting ceremony Cineworld's Barnsley ambassadors Dai,  Graham and Lee cut a reel of film to officially open the cinema ahead of a VIP IMAX showing of new Harry Styles psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling.
Cineworld Barnsley, the flagship of Barnsley town centre’s £210m regeneration,  was delayed due to the pandemic, with reports of Cineworld being set to file for bankruptcy.
But the film giant – which has more than 100 sites in the UK and Ireland – is predicting a blockbuster future for Barnsley cinemagoers at the Glass Works site which has also attracted big-name arrivals including TK Maxx, Nando’s, TGI Fridays, The Botanist and Superbowl UK.