When the Hollywood producers behind a forthcoming big-budget Harry Potter TV series announced they wanted an ‘inclusive’ cast, they were accused of pandering to a woke audience who had threatened to boycott the show over creator J.K. Rowling‘s views on transgender issues.

But while studio executives at HBO and Warner Brothers have tried to avoid any potentially damaging culture war row, it appears the author has a more significant role in the show than they would like advertised.

Ms Rowling was announced as an executive producer on the project, not a writer, but I understand she has been ‘dipping into the writers’ room’ where scripts and storylines are being developed. And when I asked an industry insider about her presence there, she recoiled and asked for it to be kept ‘secret’.

Why such coyness about the involvement of one of the world’s biggest-selling authors?

Ms Rowling was announced as an executive producer on the project, not a writer, but I understand she has been 'dipping into the writers' room' where scripts and storylines are being developed
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Ms Rowling was announced as an executive producer on the project, not a writer, but I understand she has been ‘dipping into the writers’ room’ where scripts and storylines are being developed

The Harry Potter films began to be released back in November 2001 with Daniel Radcliffe starring as the titular character
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The Harry Potter films began to be released back in November 2001 with Daniel Radcliffe starring as the titular character

Perhaps it’s down to her being a pariah in some quarters after she was labelled transphobic by her critics in 2020 for ridiculing the phrase ‘people who menstruate’. She tweeted sarcastically: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’

Quite opposite to the language in last month’s casting call, seeking actors for the show ‘regardless of ethnicity, disability, race, sexual orientation [or] gender identity’ – which prompted some critics to complain such wokeness would ruin the franchise.

But some in the opposing trenches of the culture war have said that they would not watch anything in which Ms Rowling was involved.

At a press conference announcing the series retelling the Harry Potter stories over a decade, HBO boss Casey Bloys declined to comment on Ms Rowling’s views that trans women are not women, saying: ‘I don’t think this is the forum. That’s not something we’re going to get into.’

Ms Rowling was not credited as a writer on the original Harry Potter movies, but she did give direct assistance to screenwriters Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg.

Succession’s Francesca Gardiner is lead writer on the TV version. Filming starts next year.

Lonely Cara’s seeking friends

She’s got 41 million followers on Instagram and plenty of A-listers on speed dial, so why is Cara Delevingne as lonely as a cloud? 

I can reveal the supermodel is currently on celebrity dating app Raya ‘looking for friends’. 

Although the 32-year-old is said to be in a relationship with musician Leah Mason, the pair haven’t been spotted together in public since August.

They’re not granny’s pearls!

Princess Margaret was known for her penchant for pearls but her granddaughter, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, prefers far edgier designs.

Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones

The designs are said to be inspired by Africa

The 22-year-old daughter of the Earl of Snowdon and his ex-wife Serena, has been showing off her new jewellery collection, called Matita

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon visit the Nijo Castle on September 24, 1969 in Kyoto, Japan
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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon visit the Nijo Castle on September 24, 1969 in Kyoto, Japan

The 22-year-old daughter of the Earl of Snowdon and his ex-wife Serena, has been showing off her new jewellery collection, called Matita, in Chelsea and she tells me it is inspired by Africa.

With Christmas on the horizon, I wonder if any of Margarita’s royal relatives will be snapping up the items for gifts?

David Cameron has paid tribute to Liam Payne following his death at 31.

The former Prime Minister, who appeared in a Comic Relief video with Liam and the rest of One Direction on the steps of Downing Street in 2013  said the loss was ‘desperately sad’.

The former Prime Minister appeared in a Comic Relief video with Liam and the rest of One Direction on the steps of Downing Street in 2013
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The former Prime Minister appeared in a Comic Relief video with Liam and the rest of One Direction on the steps of Downing Street in 2013

Lord Cameron told me: ‘They were all so charming and enthusiastic. It is desperately sad that Liam has lost his life so early, and Samantha and my sympathies are with his friends and family.’

Is it bad form to kiss two women from the same family? I ask as I hear that Viscount Garnock – the so-called Caledonian Cowboy who is engaged the Duke of Rutland’s daughter Lady Violet Manners first dated her older sister Alice. A

 source tells me that the 33-year-old viscount, William Lindesay-Bethune, may have even snogged Alice at a hunt ball. Let’s hope Violet isn’t the jealous type…

Lady Gabriella Windsor has cut a forlorn figure since the tragic death of her husband Thomas Kingston in February.

But the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent is now being pursued by eligible suitors.

Last week, I lunched with a Persian royal who said he’d invited her to a ‘sound healing ceremony’. Lady Gabriella’s response? A very polite ‘no’.

Diehard Arsenal fan Sir Keir Starmer’s own football skills are lacking, according to comic David Baddiel. He once played with the PM and says: ‘If Cristiano Ronaldo is 200/200, then Keir’s about two.’ Ouch!