J.K. Rowling Honored with Gold Blue Peter Badge, Answers Children’s Questions

Jul 20, 2007

Posted by: Melissa Anelli

Uncategorized

During her appearance on the BBC children’s television show Blue Peter, which airs today at 4:30 p.m. British time, J.K. Rowling was presented with the program’s highest honor, a gold Blue Peter badge. See video footage of the appearance here.

You can see pictures of Jo on the show here in our galleries.

“You have no idea what that means¦Thank you very, very much,” she said, according to a press release from the show.

During the sohw, Jo met 25 competition winning children, who drew a portrait of themselves each as a witch or wizard and included the question they would most like to ask J.K. Rowling.

Dressed as wizards and witches the young fans descended on the Blue Peter studio for what was an amusing interview with their favourite author:

Eleanor, 10, from Milton Keynes: “If you were the Sorting Hat, which house would you choose for Gordon Brown and David Cameron?

J.K. Rowling: [LAUGHS] “Ooh, I suppose, because Gryffindor is the red house, then Gordon Brown would have to go into Gryffindor. And by that logic, we’ll have to put David Cameron into Ravenclaw because it’s the blue house.

Harry, 11, from Trowbridge:”Why did you decide to kill Dumbledore in the 6th Harry Potter book?”

J.K. Rowling: “Not because I’m horrible, but because it’s an important part of the story. And he is dead.”

Natasha, 9, West Wickham: “Will I cry when I read book seven?”

J.K. Rowling: “Have you ever cried before at a sad book?”

Natasha: “Well, I cried before when Dumbledore died.”

J.K. Rowling: “I think you’ll probably cry at this book.”

Sarah, 8, from Harpenden: “If you were my mum I’d be pestering you to find out what happens in your next Harry Potter book. Do your children pester you?”

J.K. Rowling: “Well, my two year old definitely doesn’t know that I write Harry Potter and doesn’t know what Harry Potter is. And my, my four year old he says “What’s mummy do?” and he says “HARRY POTTER!” and then that’s it, there’s nothing more. But my nearly 14 year old, it’s better for her not to know, because it’s a big weight for her to bear if she knows secrets that other people don’t.”

Hayley, 10, from Newcastle: “Now you’ve finished the Harry Potter series, what new exciting projects can your millions of fans look forward to?”

J.K. Rowling: “I’m not going to promise anything, I think, at the moment, because I really do want to take some time off. I’ve loved the writing of Harry Potter, but I think it’s healthy for me to take a bit of a holiday now.”





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.