No magic fix: Harry Potter star Emma Watson and 'Madam Hooch' banned from driving

Emma Watson shot to global stardom in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, alongside fellow child stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. (Image credit: AFP)

Two stars of the "Harry Potter" films, including actress Emma Watson, were each banned from driving for six months Wednesday after being caught speeding in separate incidents.

Watson, 35, who played Hermione Granger, the friend of boy wizard Potter in the hugely popular movie franchise, was banned for driving at 38 miles (61 km) an hour in a 30-mile zone in southeastern Banbury last July.

Zoe Wanamaker, 76, who played Quidditch teacher Madame Hooch in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, was banned for six months for her offence.

She had been caught driving at 46 miles an hour in a 40-mile zone of the M4 motorway in southeastern Berkshire last August. The cases were dealt with separately by a lower magistrates court in the town of High Wycombe. Neither of the stars attended the hearings, at which they were each fined £1,044 (about Rs 1.2 lakh).

Watson, who was stopped while driving her blue Audi, has been studying for a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Oxford since 2023. Her lawyer told the court that although she was a student, "she is in a position to pay the fine".

Watson shot to global stardom in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, alongside fellow child stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. She graced the screen in all eight Potter films, with the final installment released in 2011, before transitioning to a diverse range of roles in movies such as Beauty and the Beast, The Bling Ring, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Her most recent film appearance was in Greta Gerwig's 2019 remake of Little Women. In 2023, Watson also ventured into entrepreneurship, launching a sustainable gin brand with her brother, BBC reported.

Meanwhile, the magical world she once inhabited is set for a fresh reincarnation on the small screen. A new TV adaptation of JK Rowling's beloved Harry Potter books is currently in production by HBO, expected to span a decade. The series will introduce a new generation of actors to iconic roles, with Dominic McLaughlin cast as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron. The star-studded supporting cast includes John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.

(With inputs from AFP)