Victoria Yeates Reveals More About ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Role!

Mar 12, 2018

Posted by: Dawn Johnson

BigNews, Fandom, Fans, Fantastic Beasts, Fantastic Beasts Movie, Films, Interviews, J.K. Rowling, Movies, News, Potter News, Television Programmes, Trailers

Fantastic Beasts newcomer Victoria Yeates is most well known for playing the progressive nun Sister Winifred in BBC1s drama Call the Midwife, but when cast as Bunty in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, she suddenly inherited a hugely devoted fandom and an incredible story!

Previously, little was known about the new character, though Leaky covered the limited details Yeates was able to divulge in an interview with Radio Times last month. At the time, she was only able to reveal that “[Bunty’s] a lovely character…Basically, I can tell you nothing. I have signed away any rights to tell you anything.”

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But it now looks like that moratorium has been partially lifted, and Yeates was finally cleared to tell us more about Bunty, specifically, what her role in Crimes of Grindelwald will be! She told the Daily Mail:

“Bunty went to Hogwarts…She’s Newt’s assistant and she’s a lovely, sweet character. That is probably as far as I can go – everything is top secret. I’m so sorry I can’t reveal more.”

Though it doesn’t seem like much, those small details actually tell us a lot! If Bunty attended Hogwarts, we have a clue as to her nationality, since she is most likely from one of the wizarding communities in Western Europe. She will also be personally acquainted with Albus Dumbledore, who would have been one of her professors, and she may know, or have heard of, Leta Lestrange. We don’t know whether Bunty will be the same age as Newt or younger, so we can’t guess whether they were in the same year at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it does mean they share a similar background and many common experiences. Bunty will also know of Grindelwald’s rise to power and the stakes involved in the current mission. And now–she’s employed as Newt’s assistant!

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This means that the publication of Newt’s book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, has been at least a moderate success by this point. He needs someone to help him manage the day-to-day business of attending to his research. In order to do that, Bunty must be well-versed in a magical field that would prove helpful to Newt. That could easily be Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology. He may also have selected her for a knowledge of Muggle Studies and the ability interact with many different people groups in their travels. For all we know, proficiency in Ancient Runes may prove useful in order to decipher the writings and drawings of indigenous populations as they seek to learn about and track creatures around the world.

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Whatever Bunty’s magical talents, it will be interesting to see how they factor into the story. Yeates said “the part is small but has ‘some nice big chunks in this film.'” That could mean many things–perhaps she doesn’t accompany Dumbledore, Newt, Tina, Queenie and Jacob on the whole of the mission but flits in and out at opportune times with essential information and assistance. We may not know for sure until the film itself opens in theaters Nov. 16, but we can always hope the upcoming trailers give us a few more hints.

So tune in tomorrow when the first official trailer is released and look for Leaky’s coverage and in-depth analysis of every exciting detail! In the meantime, check out Leaky’s report of the Warner Bros #WandsReady media campaign and the new Wizarding World logo in advance of the release.

Read the full Daily Mail coverage of Yeates’ comments here.

**UPDATE** See a preview of Bunty’s wand in Yeates’s #WandsReady photo below!





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.