Tate and Tennant’s Shakespeare pulls in the crowds -The Doctor duo are top celebrity Shakespearean stars.

To mark the launch of the World Shakespeare Festival this week a survey by viagogo has revealed which celebrities give the Bard’s plays the most pulling power.

The winning combination of Catherine Tate and David Tennant, who starred together in Much Ado About Nothing, topped the list keeping ye olde English flame alive and narrowly pipping Hollywood star Kevin Spacey to the top spot following his hugely popular role of Richard III.

When deciding who is best to be or not to be Hamlet, theatre producers should take heed; real-life Romeo Jude Law, who starred in 2009’s Hamlet came in third with audiences preferring him to Michael Sheen, who treads the boards in fifth place for the 2011 version of the same play.

Newcomer Eddie Redmayne comes in at fourth place; his rising star has seen him proving more popular than luvvie veterans Ralph Fiennes and Patrick Stewart.

Judy Dench’s pulling power is still going strong. The national treasure came in seventh place for her appearance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream just ahead of TV funny-man Lenny Henry who starred in A Comedy of Errors.

Ed Parkinson, viagogo spokesperson said: “While Shakespeare plays are consistently popular we always see a huge spike in demand when a household name is announced in a leading role. Both Shakespeare and celebrities have natural pulling power, and the two combined make a winning combination.”