The Harry Potter big tent of British character actors we all know and love has increased its capacity to the tune of one.

Which is an appallingly self-indulgent way of saying that Jim Broadbent has been cast in the next Harry Potter movie, which by my abacus based reckoning will be Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

It’s already started shooting apparently, and Broadbent has been tapped for the role of new potions teacher Horace Slughorn.

The actor, who for some reason I always imagine muttering ‘Oh really, Margaret’ under his breath, had this to say on the matter: “He’s quite a comic character. He’s a retired teacher of magic who’s drawn back out of retirement because he’s got some secrets they need in the battle against the Deatheaters and he’s quite starstruck as a teacher and he’s drawn back into the because he likes to notch up celebrity students, and he’s drawn back to Harry.”

And, and, and, and, and.