So far, the team behind the Harry Potter TV series have been busy finding new actors to play the iconic characters originally portrayed by other actors in the film series.
Now, the series has cast a character who was previously cut from the films, and who fans will no doubt be delighted to see included in this new adaptation of JK Rowling’s books – Peeves the Poltergeist.
According to Variety, Peeves – the ghost known for causing trouble at Hogwarts – will be played by Peter Serafinowicz, the British comedy legend known for his roles in Spaced, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, NTSF:SD:SUV, The Tick, Miracle Workers, Dreaming Whilst Black, Dead Hot, The Gentlemen and Amandaland.
Serafinowicz has also had roles in films including Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spy, Sing and How to Train Your Dragon.
Peeves was originally going to be played in the previous film adaptations by the late Rik Mayall, but his role was cut due to time constraints.
Mayall once said in an interview: “I did a little bit of filming then I went home and got the money – significant – then a month later they said, ‘Rik, sorry about this, you’re not in the film.'”
Mayall was then offered tickets to the film’s opening night, which he gave to his children as he was busy filming.
He said: “I hadn’t told my kids I wasn’t in it yet. And they came back and said ‘It’s bloody good make-up. You didn’t look like yourself at all, dad, it’s really good’ — they thought I was playing Hagrid.”
It has long been said that the new adaptation will be able to go deeper into the detail from the books, and include elements which were left out of the films. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that now looks set to include Peeves.
Harry Potter author 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 Jim Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.
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Harry Potter will be coming to HBO in the US and HBO Max globally on 25 December 2026. Subscribe to HBO Max in the UK from £5.99 a month.
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