HBO's Harry Potter confirms new Ginny Weasley and Tom Riddle actor for young Voldemort role

HBO's Harry Potter television series adaptation has finally revealed who will play Ginny Weasley after the initial actress had to be recast, the second time already a role in the upcoming reboot has had to be recast.

The TV network has also confirmed the actors who will play Dobby the house-elf as well as Tom Riddle - the evil younger version of Voldermort before he transforms in to his final form.

Gracie Cochrane is playing Ginny in season one of the adaptation, based on the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone novel, but Cochrane was announced to have 'stepped away' after the first season 'due to unforeseen circumstances'.

Bonnie Hill will take over as Ginny, while Billy Barratt will play the role of Riddle.

Dobby will be played by Lenny Rush, with it currently not known if Dobby will be CGI generated for the TV show or if Rush will play the character via motion capture or prosthetics.

Billy Barratt, who is playing the younger version of Voldemort (before he lost his nose) Tom Riddle, broke through last year with a standout performance in Bring Her Back, an Australian comedy directed by former YouTubers Michael and Danny Phillipou.

Bonnie Hill meanwhile, who will play a large part in season two along with Barratt's Riddle, had a small role in Netflix movie The Six Triple Eight, but is best known for the CBBC TV show Girl Troop vs Aliens.

It isn't the first recasting that's taken place, with Skins icon Nicholas Hoult initially announced as the flamboyant Gilderoy Lockhart before he was replaced by Game of Thrones' Kit Harington due to scheduling issues in season two.

The recasting means Harington will in fact return to the role of Lockhart having performed as the character during the Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions audiobook.

Earlier this week HBO released its first full trailer for the first season of Harry Potter, giving us our first potential glimpse of who will play Harry's parents, Lily and James. As of writing, the actors have not yet been confirmed.

Season two of the adaptation will focus on the plot of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, introducing us to the Tom Riddle manifestation of Voldemort through the Dark Lord's diary.

Filming for season two will begin in the autumn / fall with season one set to premiere on Christmas Day this year, exclusively on HBO Max.

The first trailer for season one, which released on Wednesday, 2 September, had a mixed reaction, with many thrilled at the return to Hogwarts.

Others however were full of criticism, placing it side-by-side with the first movie from 2001 to compare the far more blue and dark lighting in the HBO series.

One fan tweeted: "Crazy how old movies used to have dynamic colors and now everything is just dark, grey, and blue."

Some fans are still excited however, with one comment on YouTube saying: "The movies gave us the story. An 8-episode season has the chance to give us the school year."