It’s been 20 years since the first instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise was released to the world – and now, the cast are set to reunite in celebration.
The original cast of the Harry Potter series, including its three star leads – Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title character, Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley – are set to reunite for a one-off TV special that will air on HBO Max on New Year’s Day.
The trio will join American filmmaker Chris Columbus to discuss the film franchise, and explore their creation in depth.
The special was announced yesterday exactly 20 years on from the US release of the first film, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, on 16 November 2001, and HBO Max said that Potterheads will be invited “on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time”.
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A 52-second trailer was also released yesterday, featuring clips from several Harry Potter films and promising that “the legendary cast” would return “to where the magic started”.
The trailer understandably set social media alight, and has been racking up millions of views.
As well as the franchise’s three lead stars, the TV special will also include Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton and Tom Felton – who all played key characters in the series – and “many more” stars too.
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For the first time ever, the legendary cast returns to where the magic started. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: #ReturnToHogwarts, streaming New Year’s Day, only on HBO Max. International release coming soon. pic.twitter.com/53bHAf0WTY
Speaking ahead of the reunion, Executive Producer Casey Patterson said: “There’s magic in the air here with this incredible cast, as they all return home to the original sets of Hogwarts, where they began 20 years ago.
“The excitement is palpable as they prepare to take their fans on a very special and personal journey, through the making of these incredible films.”
Several of the franchise’s stars have also shared their excitement about the announcement of the reunion on social media, including Tom Felton and Matthew Lewis – who played Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom, respectively.
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But the biggest tribute to the film’s 20-year anniversary came from Emma Watson, who shared a lengthy Instagram post to promote the special.
She said Hermione Granger is her “favourite fictional character of all time”.
“I am proud not just of what we as group contributed as actors to the franchise but also as the children that became young adults that walked that path. I look at my fellow cast members now and I am just so proud of who everyone has become as people. I am proud we were kind to each other that we supported one another and that we held up something meaningful,” Watson added.
Return to Hogwarts will be released on 1 January 2022.
Featured Image – Warner Bros.
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James Corden is trending as football fans joke loser of England vs USA ‘has to keep him’
Daisy Jackson
Twitter users might have noticed that James Corden is trending again – and it’s not because it’s nearly Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special season.
The reason the British actor, comedian and presenter is trending is much funnier.
Once the World Cup games were matched up and we realised England and USA would face off in the group stages, people started joking that they would use Corden as a punishment for losing.
It’s become an ongoing joke that the loser of tonight’s World Cup match will ‘have to keep James Corden’.
And nobody seems to want that.
Corden fell out of favour last month when New York restaurant Balthazar called him ‘a tiny Cretin of a man’ and said that he abused their staff on his visit.
You can buy half Christmas trees so you don’t have to decorate the full thing
Emily Sergeant
December is nearly ready for rolling around once again.
It’s time to reach out the decorations out and get into the festive spirit, but for those who’d consider themselves a bit lazy, there’s an invention that could be a life saver, and it’s quite honestly genius.
You can now buy ‘half Christmas trees’ – otherwise known as or ‘against the wall Christmas trees’.
Unless your tree’s going to placed in front of a street-facing window for rafts of passers-by to see on a daily basis, it can be really tempting to just not decorate the back of it at all, right? The faff off trying to evenly-distribute strings of lights, tinsel and baubles around a full tree is often a lot more trouble than it’s worth, especially when it’s not going to be properly seen anyway.
Some would probably say it’s pointless, and it’s this thought that has presumably prompted companies to start selling these ‘half Christmas trees’.
If you’re wondering what a ‘half Christmas tree’ is, it’s basically exactly as it sounds – half a tree.
Half Christmas trees – which are also a great option for those with slightly less space to dedicate to seasonal decorations – are available in various places, and for all manner of budgets, so it should be fairly easy to get your hands on one this festive season.
You can now buy ‘half Christmas trees’ – otherwise known as or ‘against the wall Christmas trees’ / Credit: Very
Popular online retailer Very is selling a 6ft version for £39.99, and it comes with a folding metal stand.
According to the product description on the Very website: “This may look like a regular Christmas tree, but it’s been cleverly designed so that one side is completely flat, so no matter how limited your space might be, you and your family can still enjoy the magic of having a tree in your home,”
“Standing an impressive 6ft tall and featuring 511 tips for a lush look, you can stand it flat against the wall to save on valuable floor space,
“It also means you don’t have to worry about any of your favourite decorations being out of sight at the back”.
If you’re looking for something a little cheaper though, then there’s plenty of different options available on eBay and Amazon too, and our pick for this would be the vidaXL Artificial Half Christmas Tree – which is currently being sold on eBay by a number of different sellers for prices starting at £24.
Emily Sergeant -
17th November 2021 
