Retired doctor Wayne Kinsey, who lives in Barnby near Beccles, has spent more than five decades immersed in the world of Hammer Films.

He is now travelling the country representing the iconic studio as its landmark 1958 film Dracula returns to cinemas in a newly restored version.

The film was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing as vampire hunter Van Helsing and Christopher Lee in what became his defining role as Count Dracula (Image: Supplied)

Wayne Kinsey has written several books about the Hammer studio (Image: Supplied)

“I fell in love with Hammer in 1971 at the age of 9,” he said.

“Hammer’s Dracula became my favourite film, but I recall the first time I watched it back in 1971, my mum sent me to bed about half an hour before it ended, so my friends at school had to tell me how it ended on the Monday.”

That childhood fascination eventually led him to become an acclaimed author and publisher, writing several books on Hammer’s history and running his own company, Peveril Publishing.

The Hammer expert has written several books about the studio’s films (Image: Supplied)

The film was a sensation when it was released in 1958 and broke box office records worldwide (Image: Supplied)

He is now regarded as a leading authority on the studio and has contributed to documentaries for its 4K restoration releases.

Directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee in what became his defining role as Count Dracula, the film was a sensation when it was released in 1958.

Mr Kinsey added: “It smashed the box office records that had been made by The Curse of Frankenstein.

Footage removed by British censors in 1958 was later discovered in America and seamlessly restored in the new film (Image: Supplied)

“The film was a co-production with Universal, who at that time were in financial difficulty.

“The CEO of Universal, Al Daff, later said that the revenue from Dracula – that one film – saved Universal from bankruptcy – that’s Universal who today have loads of big theme parks and the Jurassic Park franchise  – without Dracula there may have been none of that.”

Wayne Kinsey and the reconstructed eagle at the London Dracula party (Image: Supplied)

Footage removed by British censors in 1958 was later discovered at Warner Brothers in America and has been reinserted seamlessly back into the film.

Mr Kinsey will appear at a special Q&A session before a screening of the film at The Riverside cinema in Woodbridge on Monday, October 19.

Tickets can be found at: https://www.theriverside.co.uk/