Ken Loach has been forced to cancel his planned attendance at two North East premieres of his new - and last - film The Old Oak.

The award-winning director was due to arrive in Newcastle to join members of his filmmaking team and the cast stars for two red carpet premieres on Thursdays of the film he shot around County Durham. But instead he was forced to cancel, after having what was described as a small accident.

The 87-year-old had a fall and is following doctor's advice to rest but is said to be fine - and he sent apologies about not being able to make the busy day which would have seen him attend interviews, then introduce the first screening of the film at Gala Theatre in Durham at 6pm followed by the second red carpet event at Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle at 7.15pm.

• Read More: Chronicle goes behind the scenes during filming of The Old Oak
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Instead, helping to host the event will be his long-term collaborator, writer Paul Laverty who has worked with Loach for years, writing the screenplays for the likes of their 2006 multi-award winner The Wind That Shakes The Barley and all three of the most recent North East-made films, with The Old Oak following on from Sorry We Missed You and the Bafta-winning I, Daniel Blake.

Back in Newcastle on Thursday, coming full circle from where the first of the three was shot and now marking the last of Loach's films, he said: "This is our last ever story here. We're going to miss the place.

"The people have been absolutely brilliant - they gave so much life and energy. People couldn't have been kinder or more positive." True to form, Loach found his film stars among those with no or little acting experience and the same is true of Dave Turner and Ebla Mari, the leads in The Old Oak which was shot in County Durham last year and takes its title from the name of a pub at the heart of the story about a former mining community where the arrival of refugees from Syria causes friction with residents before they manage to find some common ground.

Dave, who plays pub landlord TJ Ballantyne, is a retired firefighter from Blaydon who had small parts in the previous two films, which came about when the filmmakers contacted the union where he was an official. It was only through Loach's encouragement that he felt able to take on the role.

"I wouldn't have done it for anyone else," he said. "I'm not an actor, I've no acting ambitions - it was purely 100% down to Ken Loach. To spend time in his company is an absolute honour and a privilege." He described the director as a humble, gentle man but with a burning anger over social injustices which drive his filmmaking.

Ebla Mari, who is from Syria where she's a teacher of theatre, has had various visa difficulties which meant she has not been able to attend promotional events for the film so she has actually managed to see the film just once so far. Ahead of the Newcastle screening, she told how her first film-making experience has made her life richer.

She has learned a lot from watching Loach work and says: "I would love to study filmmaking one day." While the film is only being released in Britain now, she and Dave attended its screening at Cannes film festival where it was nominated for a Palme d'Or and it has since won a Prix du Public, the prize of the public, at The Locarno Film Festival in Spain.

Dave said of the Newcastle premiere: "I'm more nervous about tonight than I was about Cannes. A lot of my family and friends will be there and I'm nervous about their reaction!" Among those invited for the screening are members of the refugee community who inspired Paul Laverty's story and helped on the film - those who have done the graft he says - such as Hasna, who arrived here having lost her family and both her legs in a shelling in Syria.

The writer found her inspirational and he says he will take away from the North East many memories as well as friendships made over the years spent making the three films. With Loach involved in their every stage, including the lengthy casting process, Paul says: "Ken's probably spent about two years here."

With their last film together now hitting the screens, he adds: "We've done 14 films together. He's a remarkable man. We're friends first and we will continue to do things together.

"It would be unfair to ask him to do another feature film. He's 87 but he's as sharp as ever - he'll be up to mischief for many years to come.

"Will I miss making films with him? Yes, I'll miss it desperately but I'm grateful and think how lucky I've been to do these projects together."