No Hugh For Hogwarts

Having become - frankly quite worryingly - excited by persistent rumours that Hugh Grant was in line for the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, our dreams have since been shattered by news that he has had to step down from the role. According to Teletext, Grant was, indeed, up for the role but was forced to cast aside Lockhart's pointy hat due to scheduling conflicts. "To have Hugh on board we had to bring the production forward three months, which we can't do," said a spokesperson from Warner Bros. "So sadly he's forced out." Apparently Grant had already undergone extensive hair and makeup tests, even going as far as to dye his hair blonde, insisting that to wear a wig would be "absurd." We at Empire Online are mortified by this unfortunate turn of events as we believe Grant would have been a nigh on perfect choice for the egotistical defence against the dark arts teacher. As to who will be brought in to replace him we can only guess, but we do have a few suggestions...