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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Behind the Magic.
As the release date of the much-anticipated sixth Harry Potter feature film rapidly approaches, the adventures and magic of the student wizard continue to thrill children and adults alike.
In this one-hour special, presenter Ben Shephard takes an exclusive look behind the scenes on the set of the movie to bring viewers the secrets behind the magic and lift the lid on what it’s really like to be in a Harry Potter film – even landing a role himself.
As he prepares to star as an extra:
Ben secures unique interviews with the cast members, who spill the beans about the new film, talking about everything from their character’s new love interests to the uncomfortable job of filming Quidditch.
He snoops around the set, taking in everything from the studio where stunts are filmed, to the sweet shop which took a year to build.
And reveals exclusive clips from the new film, including the moment London’s Millennium Bridge is destroyed and Harry’s first kiss with his new girlfriend.
The programme follows Ben as he gets ready for his role in the blockbuster - a wizardly father shopping with his children in Ron Weasley’s twin brother’s sweet shop. He has a fitting with the costume designer who takes him through the process of choosing the right outfit for each scene.
He meets the children who he will be acting alongside, and finds out from them what it’s like being an extra on the film. And he looks around the set of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes – the sweet and joke shop set, which has 40,000 props, took 15 people a year to design, 50 people an entire year to build and the crew and cast spent five days filming in it.
Behind the Magic follows Ben as he records his performance – and there is an exclusive clip of his big screen debut.
Ben says: “It was so exciting to be a part of it and even though I’m only in for a few seconds, I was there and I can show my kids it. As a fan and as a movie lover it was a really special moment.”
The cast reveal to Ben some of the things that befall their characters in the new film – and explain how they deal with teenage hormones and newly developed feelings for members of the opposite sex.
There are exclusive clips of Harry’s first kiss with his new girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley’s sister, and Daniel Radcliffe talks about filming the scenes and how Harry handles going out with his best friend’s sister.
Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint reveal they corpsed repeatedly during a romantic scene between Harry and Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister:
Dan: "We must have done it 20 times, because we couldn't stop laughing. Me and Rupert are still pretty terrible at corpsing. I've got a lot better, but Rupert's awful..."
Rupert: "It does get annoying. I've ruined so many takes and there's just no reason for it, I can't explain it, it's so annoying. I feel really bad, 'cos the day just goes on and on."
Rupert Grint discusses Ron’s new love interest, Lavender, and the seven girls who were screen tested for the part.
And Emma Watson reveals that her character, Hermione, is less than impressed with Lavender and realises her own true feelings for Ron – will the characters have a happy ending?
Emma says: "Hermione's a mess in this film. She's not the best in Potions any more because Harry's got this special book. Ron's off snogging Lavendar somewhere and that's kind of rubbish. She's getting all these feelings and she doesn't really know how to deal with them. She's definitely out of her depth."
The cast tell Ben that their characters are more competitive with each other in the new film than they have been before. In one scene, which is shown in the programme, they are competing to make a potion which will see the winner walk away with a vial of ‘Liquid Luck’. Daniel reveals that Harry has help with the potion from a second-hand potions book and Hermione is left frustrated when she can’t get it right.
There is also a shock in store when Ron Weasley tries his hand at Quidditch for the first time -and is surprisingly successful. Rupert describes being hung from a harness and bouncing on a trampoline to film the scenes against a blue screen and Daniel tells Ben how painful it is to balance on a broomstick. The tricks to filming the fictional sport are revealed by the stunt team before Ben gives it a go himself.
Daniel says: "There's no secret to Quidditch, other than for a man, if you imagine sitting on a bicycle and taking your feet off the peddles, just hanging there and leaning forward, with all the repercussions that has - then you get an idea of what it's like. Balance is difficult and also certain very important organs are crushed"
The programme also features never-seen-before footage of the moment the Millennium Bridge in London is ‘destroyed’ for the film. The Head of Visual Effects describes how he used computer generated images to show the bridge buckling and twisting before breaking free of the steel ropes holding it in place and collapsing into the Thames.
And Behind the Magic premieres exclusive footage of three brand new characters: the professor who disguises himself as an armchair, Greyback the terrifying werewolf and little Tom Riddle, the boy from the orphanage who grew up to be the most evil wizard of all – Lord Voldemort.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Behind the Magic is a Kindle Entertainment production for ITV1. Catherine Whelton is the series producer and the executive producer is Anne Brogan.
Last edited: Tuesday, 30 June 2009
