BBC Scotland is making a two-part documentary about JK Rowling, marking 30 years since the first Harry Potter book was published. The series, produced with BBC Factual, will follow the author’s rise, her cultural influence and her contested reputation, and will be broadcast next year.
The programmes will use rare archive footage, Rowling’s own words and interviews with people who have worked with her. The makers say they will use her life to trace three decades of social, political and technological change in Britain, with contributions from colleagues who knew her at different stages of her career. Simon Young, the BBC’s head of commissioning for history, called her “one of the towering figures of British literature”. He said no account of 21st-century British culture would be complete without her story, the franchise she created and her standing as a divisive public figure. David Harron, commissioning editor at BBC Scotland, described her as one of the most influential people in literature and the wider media.
The first episode looks at her childhood and the years she spent writing in Edinburgh cafés, where the early Harry Potter books took shape. It will examine how the series changed children’s publishing, encouraged young people to read and strengthened Britain’s cultural identity abroad. The episode also covers how the books spoke to readers who felt like outsiders, helped build an online fan community and created an economic legacy worth billions. Edinburgh, where Rowling has long lived, is at the centre of this first part.
The second episode turns to Rowling’s move into politics and public argument. It covers her positions on Scottish independence, feminism, free speech and gender identity, set against the growth of social media and heated online debate. Some actors and fans who once supported her have since distanced themselves. The programme presents the two main views of her: supporters see a defender of women’s rights, while critics see an opponent of trans equality.
James Rogan of Rogan Scotland is the series’ executive producer. He said her success reached a whole generation of fans before spreading into film and online culture, and that the series follows her from her first days as a writer to the present. Rogan said Rowling’s “unflinching personal beliefs have sparked a fraught and divisive dialogue” in public life. The first episode is due to air next year, and full broadcast details have not yet been announced.
