Fans of Doctor Who and Star Trek have been told to lay off autograph hunting at the stage door of the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford, where David Tennant and Patrick Stewart are thesping it up in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet.

The ban comes after fans apparently started turning up at the venue with "bags" of Who goodies, hoping to get Tennant's mark on their memorabilia.

The RSC declared: "Due to the huge amount of interest in the RSC's current production of Hamlet, only Royal Shakespeare Company or production related memorabilia will be signed by members of the company.

"It is very flattering that there is so much interest in this production, but the sheer volume of requests means that we need to set some limits which will be as fair as possible for everyone. We apologise if this causes any disappointment."

Following the usual previews, Hamlet opens its door to the public on 5 August, the BBC notes. Tennant takes the lead while Stewart tackles Claudius and the Ghost. ®

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