One of the biggest British films expected to arrive in cinemas this year will now skip its planned big-screen release altogether.

The long-awaited film adaptation of the hit West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie, which is also stopping in Kent in October as part of a huge UK theatre tour, will now enjoy its film premier with an online streaming service instead.

The film tells the true story of teenager Jamie New who dreams of a life on stage and while his classmates are thinking about their next move upon leaving school, Jamie grapples with how to reveal his secret career ambition to become a drag queen.

The film has a big British cast including actress Sarah Lancashire as Jamie's mum, Richard E. Grant as legendary drag queen Miss Loco Chanelle, Shobna Gulati and Max Harwood as Jamie.

As is the case with many films in the last year, Everybody's Talking About Jamie has had a bumpy road to eventual release because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The film, whose distribution rights belong to Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, was originally scheduled for a cinema release in 2019. This was then put back to February this year, but with ongoing lockdown restrictions still impacting on the closure of cinemas its arrival was again delayed.

It has now been announced the production, by New Regency, Film 4 and Warp Films, will miss a cinema release altogether and instead launch exclusively on Amazon's streaming service Prime Video.

It will be shown in over 240 countries for the first time on September 17.

Jennifer Salke from Amazon Studios said: "Jamie's story is one that resonates across all generations - it's about unconditional love and we know our global audiences will fall in love with Jamie as he overcomes adversity to truly find his authentic self."

The film will feature hit songs from the critically-acclaimed musical, which reopens in London this month ahead of a UK-wide tour, including 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', 'The Wall In My Head' and an exclusive new song 'This Was Me' performed by Holly Johnson lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

The musical version is scheduled to perform at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury between October 11 and October 16 this year. Tickets are now on sale from the box office here.

For a complete guide to UK streaming services including how to catch more of the summer's big releases from the comfort of your own home, click here.

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