The actor and Baftas host answers your questions about facial hair, Doctor Who, Scrooge McDuck – and growing up as the son of a minister How do you face the challenge of being this year’s Bafta host? practicalpanic I don’t currently feel particularly challenged because everything’s written down for me and I don’t have to worry about winning – or not winning – an award. If it was the first night of a play, I’d be curled up in a corner in the foetal position. But the fact that it’s not my day job certainly feels liberating. Who knows why they asked me; I must have been pretty far down the list ..read more

For David Holmes, doubling for Daniel Radcliffe was a dream come true. He had been on the smash-hit series from the start, thought he’d be there till the end … and then an accident on one of the final films left him paralysed. This is what happened next The routine had already been rehearsed. A fight with the snake Nagini was supposed to send Harry Potter flying. And it certainly did that. David Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double, felt the impact, and it hurt. But that was the nature of stunt work. He was always taking a knock, and showing off another bruise. The next day the team came ba ..read more

Marina Hyde asks: What’s in Nadine Dorries’s book? A pile of dead cats big enough to kill that phrase for good (1m18s); and writer Simon Hattenstone finds out what happened next after Harry Potter’s stunt double broke his neck on set, changing his life forever (8m18s ..read more

David Yates reveals it was ‘a total surprise’ to learn that the Harry Potter author had planned for five films, and says there have been no in-depth conversations about making more The Harry Potter spin-off prequel series Fantastic Beasts has been “parked” by Warner Bros, according to its director David Yates. Speaking to the Inside Total Film podcast, Yates, who has directed every Wizarding World movie since 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, said: “We’re all so proud of [2022’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore] and when it went out into the world, we just needed to ..read more

Documentary tells story of David Holmes who sustained a spinal injury during filming of The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Daniel Radcliffe has teamed up with his Harry Potter stunt double, who became paralysed after an on-set accident, for an HBO documentary. David Holmes worked closely with Radcliffe on the Harry Potter films until he sustained a spinal injury during filming for The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in January 2009. The gymnast from Essex, who was selected to play Radcliffe’s double in the first film, broke his neck and was paralysed from the chest down ..read more

Versatile actor with a magnificent presence who starred in The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter films The word “great” is somewhat promiscuously applied to actors. But it was undoubtedly deserved by Sir Michael Gambon, who has died aged 82 after suffering from pneumonia. He had weight, presence, authority, vocal power and a chameleon-like ability to reinvent himself from one part to another. He was a natural for heavyweight classic roles such as Lear and – in the days when white actors habitually played the role – Othello. But what was truly remarkable was Gambon’s interpretative skill i ..read more

The actor was equally at home playing rough or aristocratic, with a nice line in unforgettable bad-guy roles as well as Harry Potter’s mentor Dumbledore – who made him a king-like figure in the imaginations of children everywhere • Star of Harry Potter and The Singing Detective dies aged 82 – news • ‘An actor who let his heart and soul crack open’: David Jays on Michael Gambon Of all the classic generation of British and Irish actors who found they had a new lease of world-fame due to recurring roles in the Harry Potter movie franchise, perhaps the most iconic was Michael Gambon, who took over ..read more

The celebrated actor, as accomplished on stage in Shakespeare as he was on screen at Hogwarts, has died at the age of 82. We look back at his career ..read more

The Olivier award-winning actor, whose major film roles included Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, has died Sir Michael Gambon, whose extraordinary acting career took him from Laurence Olivier’s nascent National Theatre to screen roles in The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter films, has died at the age of 82. A statement on behalf of his wife, Lady Gambon, and son, Fergus, issued by publicist Clair Dobbs, said: “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon ..read more

Studios behind Harry Potter films to undergo 400,000 sq ft expansion by 2027, in boost to struggling industry The Warner Bros studios behind the Harry Potter film series are to undergo a major expansion, creating 4,000 jobs and providing a boost to Britain’s beleaguered film and TV production industry. The development in Hertfordshire, expected to be complete in 2027, will add 400,000 sq ft (37,000 sq metres) to Warner Bros Studios Leavesden (WBSL ..read more