A SPELL OF ROMANCE: ‘FINDING LOVE CAN BE A MIRACLE'

DANIEL RADCLIFFE ON GETTING COMPETITIVE WITH GIRLFRIEND ERIN AND WHY HE’S A TERRIBLE MATCHMAKER

- ALAN TANNER

We’re pretty sure that if Harry Potter was faced with lockdown, he’d hop on his Nimbus 2000 and Wingardium Leviosa his way out of here.

In real life, Daniel Radcliffe is happily isolating in New York with his girlfriend, actress Erin Darke. The couple met on the 2013 film Kill Your Darlings, which saw their characters get steamy in a sex scene. Daniel once joked, “It’ll be a hell of a story to tell our kids one day.”

Daniel was cast as Harry Potter aged just 11 and last week its creator JK Rowling was criticised for tweets about an article discussing “people who menstruate”. She tweeted, “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” In response, she was called transphobic.

Rowling stands by her comments, saying, “It isn’t hate to speak the truth. My life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

In an essay, she wrote her interest in trans issues stemmed from being a survivor of domestic abuse and having concerns around singlesex spaces. This included her interest in “both education and safeguarding” and “freedom of speech”. Daniel responded by saying, “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people.” The star also said he hopes Rowling’s words will not “taint” the series for fans.