Love Actually star Bill Nighy is no stranger to Harry Potter, having played Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour in 2010 film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Now, he is returning to the franchise, in the newly released full-cast audio adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – and Radio Times has got an exclusive clip.
The clip sees Nighy take on his new role as Professor Slughorn, potions master at Hogwarts during the final two books of the series, played by Jim Broadbent in the films. It also features Hugh Laurie as Albus Dumbledore, Jaxon Knopf as Harry Potter and Cush Jumbo as the narrator.
Both book readers and fans of the films will recognise the clip as the scene in which Dumbledore and Harry go to Professor Slughorn’s house, where he is disguised as an armchair in a dilapidated room. With Slughorn’s disguise exposed, he and Dumbledore then set about fixing up the room.
You can listen to the clip right here:
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The Harry Potter Full-Cast Audio Editions first started releasing in November 2025, with a new instalment debuting on Audible each month. The sixth instalment is available as of today (Tuesday 14 April), while the seventh and final entry in the series will release on Tuesday 12 May.
Other actors to feature in the cast for The Half Blood Prince include Rhys Mulligan as Ron Weasley, Nina Barker-Francis as Hermione Granger, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall and Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort.
Meanwhile, Ruth Wilson plays Bellatrix Lestrange, Simon Pegg plays Arthur Weasley, Leo Woodall plays Bill Weasley and Ambika Mod plays Nymphadora Tonks.
The Full-Cast Audio Editions are arriving ahead of a new TV series adaptation of the books for HBO, which is scheduled for release in December of this year. The trailer for HBO’s highly-anticipated adaptation was released last month and stars the likes of Nick Frost as Hagrid, John Lithgow as Dumbledore and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
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Harry Potter author JK Rowling has faced backlash in some quarters due to her views on transgender rights. In 2020, she published a lengthy statement detailing her stance on sex and gender debates – the essay was criticised and disputed by LGBTQ+ charities including Stonewall.
Rowling has also shared her views on social media, including in a 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which she insisted that “there are no trans kids” and opposed the idea that a child can be “born in the wrong body”.
In May 2025, Rowling set up the JK Rowling Women’s Fund, which describes itself as offering legal funding support to “individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights”.
Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have distanced themselves from Rowling’s views and have issued statements supporting the transgender community. Others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: The Full-Cast Audio Edition is available on Tuesday 14 April. Read our list of the best audiobooks on Audible to listen to right now.
Check out more of our Audio coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
