Wing wizard I nearly played Quidditch in a Harry Potter movie, reveals Theo

HARRY Potter writer JK Rowling will be enchanting her fans with the second exciting instalment of her Fantastic Beasts adventures.

These new pictures show Eddie Redmayne is back as Newt Scamander. He is enlisted by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to thwart dark wizard Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp. STAR winger Theo Walcott has revealed he missed out on a cameo role in a Harry Potter film – as a flying Quidditch player.

Walcott, 28, said Arsenal commitments meant he was forced to reject the offer from his uncle David Yates, who has directed four of the blockbuster Potter films.

“It would have been great but I’ve always put my football first,” said Walcott, whose Aunt Yvonne is married to Mr Yates, 54.

He directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2009, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, parts one and two, in 2010 and 2011.

England player Walcott, who has just transferred to Everton for £20million after 12 years at Arsenal, is not the only member of his family lured by the Potter films.

He said: “My wife Mel has been in one. So have my mum, dad and brother.

“They wanted me to take part in one of the Quidditch games.

“But it would have taken up a lot of my time and I just wasn’t able to commit to it.

“I just want to concentrate on Everton now. This is a big time – for me and for the club. I believe the new manager Sam Allardyce is taking Everton into a new era.” Walcott, who has two boys with Mel, had an offer to return to his first club Southampton before Everton captain Wayne Rooney’s influence helped to convince him to move to Merseyside.

He said: “I wanted to be part of something new and Wayne told me that he really felt part of Everton again. That’s why he came back here from Manchester United. He felt Everton was unfinished business.

“There was just so much desire in what he said. That’s exactly what I wanted.

“It was also important to have a manager who believed in me straight away.”