JK Rowling Talks Harry Potter With Jonathan Ross

The current season of the award-winning show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross ends tonight on BBC One with a rare and exclusive interview with JK Rowling, publishing phenomenon and author of the Harry Potter books.

In a revealing conversation she talks about her feelings about finally finishing the series.

"Finishing the book is a relief, I can feel more relaxed... I can't think of anyone who could know how I felt. Actually finishing it was the most remarkable feeling I've ever had... [I felt] euphoria, devastated, when I finished one chapter near the end I absolutely howled, it had been planned for so long.

I was in a hotel room on my own, I was sobbing my heart out, I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini-bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face, that was really tough."

She also talks about her inspiration for her three main characters.

Hermione "I was quite swotty when I was a kid"

Harry "He's totally imaginary, it's absolutely bollocks that he's based on people"

Ron "A lot like my oldest friend Sean".

Finally she talks about her relationship with the actors who portray these characters.

"It's a weird relationship. It's a peculiar feeling, parental, and yet there's this place where you're inhabiting the same characters... strangely intense from my point of view... to keep it all British has been a hell of an achievement."

And as for the last word of the last book... "Scar? It was so for ages, and now it's not. Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word."

The seventh and final Harry Potter book — Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — goes on sale in the English language worldwide on 21 July. The film Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix is released on 12 July.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Friday 6 July 2007, 10.35 pm, BBC One