Daniel Radcliffe has responded to the fallout with Harry Potter author JK Rowling over her views on the transgender community for the first time since 2020, saying: “It makes me really sad”.

Rowling, who has always denied being transphobic, has been widely condemned in recent years for her views on transgender rights, having claimed that she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.

Radcliffe, who became a worldwide star after playing schoolboy wizard Harry in the blockbuster adaptations of the novels, said in an interview with US magazine The Atlantic he has had no direct contact with the writer throughout the controversy.

“It makes me really sad, ultimately,” he said, “because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.”

The 34-year-old actor first expressed his support for the trans community in response to Rowling’s stance back in June 2020 when she took issue with the phrasing of a headline for an opinion article about healthcare equality, titled Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.

Her response to it on social media – “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” – sparked a debate and ongoing criticism of her views.

Radcliffe waded into the controversy at the time in a blog post for the LGBT suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, writing that while Rowling “is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken… as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment”.

He added: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Radcliffe told The Atlantic: “Obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Last month, Rowling reignited the row with the Harry Potter stars, hitting out at “celebs” who she said have “used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors” – after the Cass Review found there is “remarkably weak evidence” to support gender treatments for children.

One person replied to her post on X, writing: “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them…”

Rowling responded: “Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”

In response, Radcliffe told The Atlantic: “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”

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Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, and Rupert Grint, known for his portrayal of Ron Weasley in the series, have also been outspoken in support of transgender people.

A Scottish college is offering a course on Taylor Swift to educate parents and carers accompanying children to the US singer’s sold-out The Eras Tour.

More than 2.9 million fans attempted to secure tickets for the tour, and her sold-out concerts at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh are set to be watched live by 215,000 people.

Swift, 34, will perform in Edinburgh on 7, 8 and 9 June, with the crowd numbers expected to beat Harry Styles’ record in 2023 for the biggest show in Scotland.

Glasgow Clyde College (GCC) has launched a masterclass aimed at teaching parents and plus-ones about the set list and Swift’s evolving wardrobe and hairstyles.

It will cover crowd chants as well as her previous work, including albums Fearless and Folklore.

The free session is designed to help non-Swifties to get “up to speed” so they fully appreciate “iconic” moments in the set.

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Robert Anderson, curriculum assistant principal at GCC, said: “Taylor mania doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon, and we expect it’ll reach its peak here in Scotland in June.

“We understand that not everyone will be up to speed on all things Taylor and might not get the full Eras experience.

“That’s why we created this masterclass – to prepare those who’ll be heading along to the gig with their superfan kids, friends or partners to ensure they have just as memorable a time.

“Taylor’s gigs are known for being so well crafted, and unless you’re a fan yourself, you might miss some of the iconic moments.

“Our expert will take you through everything you need to know – leaving you a Swiftie in no time.”

The one-off course, which is free, will take place from 6pm to 7.30pm on 7 May in the Innovation Centre at GCC’s Langside Campus.

A leading wildlife broadcaster has said he will not be drinking “any more” Heineken after the company felled thousands of trees in one of its orchards.

Chris Packham said the decision to cut the trees on land in Monmouthshire near the border between England and Wales was a “tragic waste of a fabulous resource”.

The BBC reported thousands of apple trees had been cut on 300 acres of land at Penrhos Farm.

The company, which owns Bulmer’s, says it plans to sell the land due to a lack of demand for cider and a surplus of apples.

But Chris Packham, best known for presenting series such as Springwatch, told Sky News that the decision to fell the trees was “immoral”.

“In a biodiversity crisis, I would say it’s bordering on unethical and certainly immoral because resources like that ought to be passed on to people who can use them to enrich wildlife and human life,” he said.

Mr Packham added that he was currently teetotal and had been drinking one of Heineken’s alcohol-free products.

“I’m not drinking any more of it, because I just think we want companies in our lives that are looking after our planet and our future and our children’s future,” he said.

“They had an opportunity to do that and they’ve just squandered it, I just think it’s really short-sighted.”

The benefits of orchards, according to the Woodland Trust, include the fact fruit trees age quickly which creates deadwood habitats.

‘Disgraceful’

Fellow broadcaster Iolo Williams is calling for a boycott of the company after the “disgraceful” felling.

“I think that with these big companies, the only way [can make our voice heard] is to boycott them, hit them in the pocket,” he told Sky News.

“Because I do think, I genuinely think, it’s tragic what they’ve done when we could have helped to tackle the biodiversity crisis, the climate emergency, physical and mental health issues.

“All of these could have been helped just by them saying ‘Listen, we’re not going to use it again, why don’t we give it over to the local community?'”

Charles Watson, chair of River Action UK said the catchment of the River Wye needed “every tree and plant available” if its decline had “any chance of being reversed”.

“It is hugely disappointing to see Heineken destroy such a huge volume of natural biomass,” he said.

“Yet again the environment is being sacrificed for corporate profit.”

‘Huge surplus of apples’

A Heineken spokesperson said the company made clear its intention to sell Penrhos Farm, one of two apple farms it owns, in November last year.

“Over a number of years, the cider market has slowed and the yield of apples per acre has increased leading to a huge surplus of apples,” they said.

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The spokesperson added that the apples have “no other use than creating cider”.

“In order to make best use of the land to grow other crops, the bush orchards had to be removed,” they said.

“All the wood is shredded for biomass and the bushes were removed in line with The Wildlife Act.”

The company says it “firmly” remains a cider, beer and pub company and sources all of its apples from around 6,000 acres of orchards in and around Herefordshire.