IT’S arguably the most sought-after role for any young actor – only now the Harry Potter TV series has given the job of boy wizard to two lucky lads.
Earlier this year, Dominic McLaughlin was revealed as the main star of the upcoming adaptation by HBO of JK Rowling‘s epic books.
He has a body double, called Isaac Geut, left, who will be stepping in for him in various scenes[/caption]
But I can reveal that he has a body double, called Isaac Geut, who will be stepping in for him in various scenes.
An insider said: “He’s got the perfect mop of thick black hair and boyish looks that’s needed to play the very young Potter.
“In fact he looks so much like him that producers are talking about using him more extensively than previous stand-in actors that have appeared in the movies.
“That’s how confident they are in him to replicate the appearance of the boy wizard.”
It means that when Dominic is needed for speaking roles in one location, Isaac can be available in another part of the country, or even abroad, to stand in for him in shots where no dialogue is required.
He was recently seen in Kynance Cove, Cornwall, along with Daniel Rigby and Amos Kitson, who play Uncle Vernon Dursley and cousin Dudley Dursley respectively in the new show.
They were filming sections of the new TV series featuring Jon Lithgo who was seen playing Dumbledore for the first time.
Dominic doesn’t have much to worry about though as huge international fame awaits him when the series eventually airs in 2027.
He will star alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.
In July this year Harry and the iconic Dursley family were also spotted at London Zoo by the penguin enclosure, filming scenes for the new series.
They were re-creating the well-known scene from the books, where Harry talks to the snake.
BENEDICT’S HAVING A BALL
NETFLIX have confirmed the drop dates for the fourth series of Bridgerton.
It will go out in two chunks: episodes one to four on January 29 then episodes five to eight on February 26.
This season focuses on the Bridgerton family’s second son Benedict, played by Luke Thomson.
His elder and younger siblings are now happily wed but he has no intention of giving up his free-and-easy lifestyle.
But all that changes after his mother’s masquerade ball he meets a mysterious lady in silver called Sophie Baek, played by Yerin Ha.
The Sun exclusively revealed earlier this year how season five and six of Bridgerton had also been commissioned.
GILL’S IN A BIT OF TROUBLE
Gillian Anderson in the new trailer for Trespasses[/caption]
GILLIAN ANDERSON isn’t quite looking her usual glamorous self in an upcoming Channel 4 drama set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The actress is seen in a new trailer for Trespasses alongside co-stars Tom Cullen and Lola Petticrew.
Set in a town outside Belfast in 1975, the drama sees Gillian in the role of Gina, a woman surviving amid the conflict.
Then her daughter Cushla, played by Lola, falls for a controversial barrister called Michael, played by Tom.
She is Catholic, while he is a protestant, and married – and their love affair threatens to tear everyone’s world apart.
The gripping four-parter is set to air later this year.
TRIPLE CHANCE AT LOVE
New Love Island formats will soon be on ITVX[/caption]
A TRIO of international Love Island formats will drop on ITVX soon.
UK audiences will finally be able to watch the latest series of Love Island USA – which was America’s biggest streamed reality title during its six-week run this summer – when it debuts on ITV2 and ITVX later this year.
Love Island Australia will follow on both ITV2 and ITVX, hosted by Sophie Monk, as an assortment of Australian Islanders descend upon a Majorcan villa.
Then in 2026, Love Island The Games will drop for the first time in the UK on ITVX.
The latest series became a big talking point across social media, with several former UK Islanders, including Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen.
Plus, viewers won’t have long to wait until the return of Love Island All Stars in the new year.
FOUR new history commissions that have been made for BBC Two and iPlayer are: Escaping Idi Amin; Legacy: Michael Jackson; Captured By IS; and Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club. Plus there will be a new season of A House Through Time with professor David Olusoga.
COMEDY HEAVEN FOR JOE
COMEDIAN Joe Wilkinson is getting more exposure than normal due to being on BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors.
Now he’s about to get a little bit more after teaming up with fellow funnyman David Earl for new U&Gold show, Joe & David’s Magical Sitcom Tour.
The three-episode show is part travelogue, part buddy comedy and part retrospective.
It sees them explore their love of classic British sitcoms, with an episode each devoted to The Office, Porridge and Fawlty Towers.
In the episode exploring The Office, Joe & David meet David Brent himself, series co-creator, co-writer and star Ricky Gervais, and are even treated to David Brent classic song Freelove Freeway.
NATALIE CRINGES AT CBB
Former EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy says stars who sign up for Celebrity Big Brother are fame seekers[/caption]
NATALIE CASSIDY says stars who sign up for Celebrity Big Brother are fame seekers – despite once being a contestant herself.
The former EastEnders actress appeared on the reality show’s 2012 series, won by Denise Welch.
She said meeting the Loose Women panellist was her only highlight and compared her experience to the episode of BBC comedy Extras, where Ricky Gervais’ character Andy Millman has a torrid stint on the show.
In her new book Happy Days, Natalie said: “During my time in the house, I made great friends with the actress and presenter Denise Welch, who was brilliant.
“Some of the other people were a bit bonkers, though.
“It felt very Andy Millman from Extras – in the Christmas special he does Celebrity Big Brother because he thinks it’s going to be great and meets all these sad people who want to be famous.
“That desperation for fame is a bit cringe-worthy to me.”
MIDSOMER Murders is set for a 26th series by ITV.
It brings the total number of episodes to a whopping 148 and firmly cements this corner of the English countryside as the most dangerous on Earth.
Neil Dudgeon and Nick Hendrix are back as DCI Barnaby and his sidekick DS Winter.
