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Almost every child has dreamed, if only for a moment, of living in the world of Harry Potter.

When the cast was announced for the films back in the early 2000s, I remember feeling a pang of jealousy – Emma Watson was fine, but wasn't I the real Hermione Granger? I would have given anything for a casting director to have spotted me and whisked me away to Hogwarts to play the iconic witch.

For three young actors – Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout – that fantasy has become a reality after they were cast as Harry, Hermione and Ron in HBO's forthcoming Harry Potter TV adaptation.

The trio went through a process that lasted for months and included several rounds of auditions and workshops.

They were eventually chosen after more than 30,000 children applied to join the wizarding world through an open casting call. What was the process like, and what lies in store for the chosen few?

Daniela Tasker saw the open casting call advertised on Facebook and encouraged her son and daughter to audition.

They were asked to submit two videos – a memorised monologue and a short introductory clip talking about their hobbies. Her son Marcus received a call back.

"Marcus wasn't very interested in Harry Potter but when he made it to the next stage he read all the books, watched the films and went through a phase of loving it," Daniela tells the BBC.

In October, Marcus was sent a script from classic 1982 film ET to perform – but after submitting his video, he didn't hear back.

Despite being "very sad" about the outcome, Marcus is now determined to apply for other acting roles and has his second-round script framed in his bedroom.

Those who made it past the second round of auditions had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), meaning they can't publicly reveal any information about the casting process.

However, one parent who spoke to the BBC anonymously said their son made it through several rounds of the process and was still attending auditions until recently.

'Dodged a bullet'

The young boy was given a script for the new series and attended in-person workshops with other children.

"We had a glimpse of what the show will be like and we are very excited for it," the parent says. "You can tell a lot of care has gone into the details."

But the parent started to "get cold feet" as the process went on when they realised how life-changing this role would be.

"It started to become more daunting and we realised the huge pressure that would be on our son if he got the role. He was a little disappointed to be unsuccessful but I think we've dodged a bullet."

Issy always dreamed of joining her big brother as a Sea Cadet.

She joined the Loughborough branch in Leicestershire two days after her 10th birthday – the official joining age – and was hooked from the first night.

But at the age of 13, Issy's life changed when she suffered a deterioration in her sight overnight, leaving doctors mystified.

"I just woke up one day and my vision was super blurry," she said. "I've been to hospital, had checks with my brain and they can't find anything."

Issy explained she was released from medical care after a few years and "felt lost".

She added: "I thought it was going to change everything at cadets, I'll be a health and safety risk – but the staff were really good, they said 'what can we do to help?'"

Issy, now 16, said that prior to becoming visually impaired, she had "loved" her work with the cadets, and added: "You're learning in such a fun way you don't feel like you're learning, whilst at school it's so stressful.

"The tests you have to do, they make it seem so easy and do it in such a relaxed way."

It was the cadets that helped her after her eyesight deteriorated, as they let her join in all activities, even on the water.

"Boating I thought was going to be like end game, and I was going to have to sit on the side," she said.

"But no, it was really good, I always have someone to help me and they say 'let's just get on with it, we'll learn from our mistakes and keep going'.

"Now I've done every qualification I can do on the water."

Issy has had to adapt to her visual impairment in other areas, but, like her Sea Cadet career, she has continued to thrive.

She has just completed her first aid at work course and is getting ready to take her GCSEs.

At school, she uses large print to help her see the work. Her biggest problem is at night.

"In the dark, I can only see silhouettes and I can't tell who people are," she said. "I use a cane now to help me."

She has also praised the cadets for the adjustments they have made.

They painted white lines on all the steps and put glow-in-the-dark tape around all the light switches.

She added: "At first, at age 13 it was difficult, but I've learned to live with it. I had no idea what it would be like for the rest of my life. I've just tried to get on with it."

Now, Issy is helping her branch of the Sea Cadets by trying to encourage other people to come forward and volunteer.

The charity is having to turn away children because it does not have enough volunteers to support new recruits.

Stewart Thorpe, from the East Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association, said the group wanted to "positively change the lives of more youngsters in the area".

He added Issy had been an inspiration and wanted to share her story "from having her world turned upside down when she woke up partially blind, to being made to feel like anyone else, thanks to volunteers".

A man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after a van crashed into a car and flipped over into a pub sign.

Nottinghamshire Police said a 22-year-old man was arrested following the collision near the Radcliffe pub in Shelford Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent, at 13:20 BST on Monday.

He was also arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drink and failing to stop following a road accident after being treated in hospital for minor injuries, the force said.

Sgt Nathan Lewis, of Nottinghamshire Police, said it was an "incredibly dangerous situation".

Police said the motorist had reportedly been driving in a dangerous manner, speeding and overtaking other cars on bends before losing control near the pub entrance and crashing into its sign.

The van was "completely written-off" and another car sustained "significant damage", the force said.

Sgt Lewis said: "This was an incredibly dangerous situation that thankfully didn't result in anyone sustaining any injuries.

"That this didn't happen was down to sheer luck, when you consider the damage caused to both vehicles and the crash's location near the entrance to a pub."

A boat builder from Devon is set to restore a vessel that helped evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk.

From 26 May to 4 June 1940, hundreds of vessels sailed through heavy enemy fire to rescue more than 338,000 British and Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk as part of Operation Dynamo.

Boat builder Abbey Molyneux, originally from Exeter, said the Guide of Dunkirk lifeboat, which has spent 40 years in Mevagissey, in Cornwall, would be transported to her boatyard in Norfolk for the restoration.

"She saved thousands of lives on the run to Dunkirk and we're now going to try and restore her," she said.

Ms Molyneux told BBC Radio Devon the Guide of Dunkirk was in "perfect condition".

According to the RNLI, 700 civilian vessels, now known as the Little Ships of Dunkirk, made the crossing along with 19 RNLI lifeboats.

"They used all sorts of different boats and the Guide of Dunkirk was very popular, as were a lot of lifeboats because they've got a very shallow draft," Ms Molyneux said.

"They saved thousands and thousands of lives because they were the boats that could get closest to the shore to rescue the soldiers."

She added: "These little lifeboats were a key part of the whole evacuation."

Ms Molyneux, who has restored up to 30 Dunkirk little ships, said she hoped to restore the vessel back to its original condition and take it back to Dunkirk in the future.

The Guide of Dunkirk will arrive in Norfolk on Friday.

A woman with a life-threatening heart condition has spent seven months in a hospital more than 260 miles away from home as she waits for a transplant.

Nicola Allen, 51, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was born with two holes in her heart but it was only after she gave birth in 2010 that she was diagnosed with ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

She was admitted to Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, the UK's leading centre for complex congenital heart conditions, when her condition deteriorated in October.

"I have already started to look forward to the clanking of the tea trolley on the ward," she said.

Ms Allen, a family support worker, said the hardest thing about her hospital stay was being so far away from loved ones.

"Living away from home has its own kind of pain, being away from my family and friends – especially my daughter," she said.

"I feel like I am missing a piece of myself every day. I think of her all the time."

The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) service said 13 people had died waiting for a heart transplant in 2023-24 and there were currently 306 people waiting for a heart-only transplant.

The average waiting time for a heart transplant for those on the non-urgent list is about six years, according to NHSBT.

However, this falls to 47 days for those on the urgent list and just 11 days for those on the super-urgent list.

"There are not enough donated organs which sadly means some people wait years for a transplant or never receive one at all," an NHS spokesperson said.

"Waiting lists are at their highest level in a decade.

"We urge everyone to confirm their decision to be an organ donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell their family they want to save lives."

'Days blur together'

Ms Allen said she realised quickly after admission she would need to establish a routine for the sake of her mental wellbeing.

The routine includes getting dressed every day, going for a walk for fresh air in the hospital courtyard and writing a daily blog.

"This has helped me to motivate myself and have a sense of worth," she said.

She added that going for medical procedures had become "like a day out".

Despite being given her own room with an en-suite and a window, Ms Allen said she often felt claustrophobic.

"The days blur together," she said.

"Sometimes I think about escaping – not far, just far enough to feel like I am somewhere else.

"But for now, I stay where I am, I wait and I hope."

A man has been charged after an attack on an 88-year-old man in Evesham.

The elderly victim was badly injured in an assault at Murcot Turn in Broadway on 11 May and taken to hospital.

Adrian Paskin, 40, of Murcot Turn, Broadway, has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, criminal damage and theft and is expected to appear at Worcester Crown Court on 9 June.

West Mercia Police said a 46-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the attack remains on bail.

Thirty years ago Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry helped win the Eurovision Song Contest for Norway – could an astro-dog themed favour be returned this year?

Enter EMMY, who will be flying the Irish tricolour in Basel, Switzerland, next week.

But how does a 24-year-old Norwegian singer, who had never been to Ireland, end up representing one of Eurovision's most decorated nations?

As it turns out, quite easily – after a chance encounter at a songwriting camp in her native Scandinavia, where she met Irish songwriter Larissa Tormey.

The pair collaborated on the song Laika Party – inspired by the stray Soviet dog who was sent on a doomed space mission in 1957.

The dog, described as a female Russian breed, became the first living creature to orbit the Earth when she was launched aboard the space satellite Sputnik II.

She died after 10 hours due to overheating and stress, but EMMY and her co-writers have imagined a different outcome in their bizarre, upbeat ode to Laika.

So far, so Eurovision.

"I've heard her story since I was a little kid, but it came to me again as an adult and I thought about how extremely sad her story really is. I wanted to create a scenario where she gets to be happy and alive instead," EMMY said.

After initially being rejected from the Norwegian Eurovision selection process, Laika Party was given a second chance when it was announced as an entry for Ireland's Eurosong.

"[Larissa] said she thought this song would fit Ireland, because of their love for animals… we decided to submit it and I'm so glad we did," she explained.

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Evidently, they were right – the song succeeded over the likes of Irish pop royalty Samantha Mumba, who was left unimpressed by the selection process, and will make its Eurovision debut at the second semi-final on 15 May.

"Eurosong was actually my first time in Ireland," EMMY said.

"We had about a week to become as Irish as we could!

"I'm so grateful that Ireland actually chose us, you know, it's just an amazing journey and we have done these pre-parties around Europe and it's so amazing to see the audience sing along, that means a lot."

Imagine this – you're out cycling, but you're not alone and, in fact, as scores of people pedal alongside you there's rave music playing on scores of speakers they've taken along for the ride.

It is just what cyclists enjoyed in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, during a free rave hosted by self-styled "DJ on the bike" Dom Whiting.

Whiting's West Midlands party came after similar pedal-raves he has hosted across the world in the likes of Vienna, Berlin and Barcelona.

From bikes to scooters and skateboards to roller skates, any mode of transport was welcome, with riders hooking their own speakers up to the drum 'n' bass party, which was streamed live on Facebook.

This weekend's route saw music lovers tour round the city, starting and finishing at Centenary Square, passing through Newtown and Hockley.

Mr Whiting headed up the mass-ride, as it took over the city streets with drivers having to queue patiently, as they waited to return to the roads.

Along with all that pedalling, Whiting's DJing skills have also led him to play a guest drum 'n' bass mix on Radio 1.

The only pair of breeding ospreys in southern England have laid four eggs at their nest site for the second year in a row.

Ospreys typically lay three eggs, so for four to be laid two years on the run is highly unusual and it would be "unprecedented" if all four hatch again this year, according to the Birds of Poole Harbour group.

A reintroduction programme began in Poole Harbour, Dorset, in 2017 and in 2022 female CJ7 and male 022 became the first nesting pair of ospreys on the south coast of England in 180 years.

Liv Elwood, Birds of Poole Harbour manager, said: "The team at Birds of Poole Harbour are delighted to see CJ7 lay four eggs for the second time."

Ospreys are classed as Schedule 1 species, which means that they have the highest level of protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

The birds share incubation duties, with males also responsible for hunting to feed the pair during this period.

Hatching is expected to start towards the end of this month.

Ms Elwood said: "This nest is so important for the recolonisation of this special species on the south coast, and every chick that fledges from the nest is a reason to celebrate.

"We can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds."

Interest in the ospreys has been significant, with live-stream webcams allowing viewers to observe the nesting process.

A GP practice will remain closed until the end of the week due to ongoing safety concerns, the owners have said.

Caister Health Centre was first closed on 29 April after 16 people fell ill, and again on Tuesday as a "precautionary measure".

The practice said the fire service had worked with gas engineers from Cadent and with Anglian Water but no concerns had been identified so far.

A spokesperson for the health centre said patient appointments would be rearranged at other surgeries, and that patients would be contacted with further information.

Jonathan Knights, the practice's executive manager, said further tests would be carried out at the site in the coming days.

"We're going to engage experts in air quality to come down and try and advise us whether there's any cause for concern," he said.

"The steps we've taken so far have been precautionary measures, and so far there has been no concern found.

"But we want to make sure, for the safety of our patients and staff, that remains the case."

Mr Knights said those that fell ill had symptoms such as headaches and tiredness.

The building's dental practice and pharmacy, which originally opened as usual this morning, decided to close later in the day.

The GP practice urged patients to order their prescriptions over the phone or via the NHS App instead.

Emergency services were called to the practice on 29 April when four of the 16 people who fell ill took themselves to hospital.

The practice reopened the following day.

Four fire engines, two ambulances and a police car where then sent there on Tuesday afternoon after a number of staff felt slightly unwell.

Network gas operator Cadent confirmed it was called back to the site, but the gas had already been turned off after last week's incident.

Mr Knight said the building's landlord had been made aware of the issue.