Month: December 2025

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15 December 2025

Dame Shirley Bassey Brings Magic to New Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions

Photo credit: Matt Holyoak

Dame Shirley Bassey, whose iconic glamour and powerhouse vocals helped inspire the character of Celestina Warbeck in the original Harry Potter stories by J.K. Rowling has officially stepped into the Harry Potter universe. Audible and Pottermore Pubishing announced that the legendary singer has recorded three original songs for Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions, each performed with a 17-piece big band.

The first track, You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have My Heart, composed by Ashley Griffin, will appear in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Full-Cast Edition), set for release on December 16, 2025.

Dame Shirley Bassey said, ‘I’m honoured to have been an inspiration for the original character of Celestina Warbeck in the Harry Potter series. Bringing her music to life in this ambitious project from Pottermore Publishing and Audible was a joy, and I hope these songs throughout the audiobooks offer a truly magical listening experience for fans worldwide.’

Two additional songs will debut with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Full-Cast Edition) on April 14, 2026 with A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love, also composed by Griffin and You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me, composed by Kezia Tomsett

Bassey recorded her vocals at Miraval Studios in France, while the big-band arrangements were performed and captured at Abbey Road Studios in London, adding a rich, classic shimmer befitting Celestina Warbeck’s status as Harry Potter’s beloved ‘Singing Sorceress.’

The new recordings mark the first time Dame Shirley has lent her voice to official Harry Potter music, bringing a long-imagined character fully to life for fans around the globe.

Listen to an exclusive snippet below:

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18 December 2025

Support Lumos’ “Home for the Holidays” 2025 appeal

This holiday season, J.K. Rowling’s international children’s foundation Lumos invites you to join them in its fourth annual Home for the Holidays Appeal, a campaign that reminds us all of the joy and security a loving family provides during the most special time of year.

The Lumos annual appeal seeks to raise awareness and funds for their work supporting the estimated 5.4 million children worldwide who are likely to spend this holiday season in an institution, rather than in a family. This time of year, especially, serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of a safe and loving family in the lives of children.

Over December and into the New Year, Lumos is sharing stories from people with lived experience of institutional care, stories of challenge, change, and most importantly, hope. These voices are as passionate about driving care reform for children globally as we are.

One story they have shared in their holiday series is of Laura (pictured), 27, from Colombia, who spent 16 years in an institution. She is now determined to raise awareness of what it is like to grow up in an institution, saying, “I want to share with my future children all the love I couldn’t have and for them to grow up loved, protected, listened to.”

Visit Lumos’ website to read Laura’s full story and more information about the appeal.

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10 December 2025

Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return in Strike – The Running Grave

Robin Ellacott (HOLLIDAY GRAINGER), Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE)
Photo credit: BBC/Brontë Film & TV/Justin Downing

Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger are returning for the next instalment of STRIKE – THE RUNNING GRAVE, the seventh (5 x 60 minute) story of the BBC’s hit crime drama in co-production with HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery and based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Head to Robert-Galbraith.com for more information.