{"id":47722,"date":"2026-08-16T01:20:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=47722"},"modified":"2026-08-16T01:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:20:28","slug":"the-shocking-true-story-behind-hbos-the-trial-of-louise-woodward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=47722","title":{"rendered":"The shocking true story behind HBO&#8217;s The Trial of Louise Woodward"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308412630-3bbd.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29385248\" alt=\"BGUK_3651904 - *PREMIUM-EXCLUSIVE* Bridgnorth, UNITED KINGDOM MUST CALL FOR PRICING BEFORE USAGE - *PICTURES TAKEN ON 01\/08\/2026* 'Killer Nanny' Louise Woodward Is Seen For The First Time Since HBO Revealed They Are Making A TV Series About Her Trial. The former au pair was spotted on an outing in Shropshire, England, almost 30 years after she was convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen in Newton, Massachusetts. Woodward, who was just 18 at the time, was spotted putting on a pair of glasses to read the parking charges in a car park in Bridgenorth. She was accompanied by an elderly couple and carried a fold up chair. Last week it emerged that White Lotus star Meghann Fahy will play the British au paid in a limited series from HBO entitled 'The Trial of Louise Woodward'. The series will dramatise the story of how Woodward was accused of shaking baby Matthew to death when he was left in her care by her host family in Massachusetts. The 1997 court case became a media sensation in both the United States and the U.K. Pictured: Louise Woodward BACKGRID UK 15 AUGUST 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID UK: +44 208 344 2007 \/ uksales@backgrid.com USA: +1 310 798 9111 \/ usasales@backgrid.com *Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Louise Woodward has been spotted in a rare sighting as her story returns to the spotlight thanks to an HBO series (Picture: Backgrid)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Almost 30 years after <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/01\/09\/the-killer-nanny-who-is-louise-woodward-and-where-is-she-now-15890356\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/01\/09\/the-killer-nanny-who-is-louise-woodward-and-where-is-she-now-15890356\/\">Louise Woodward became one of the most notorious<\/a> young women in Britain, her extraordinary story is heading back into the spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>The former au pair, now 48, has been pictured during a rare public appearance in Shropshire, days after it was announced that <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/the-white-lotus\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">The White Lotus<\/a> star Meghann Fahy will portray her in a new <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/hbo\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">HBO<\/a> drama about the trial that transfixed Britain and America in 1997.<\/p>\n<p>Woodward was spotted in Bridgnorth accompanied by an elderly couple, carrying a folding chair and putting on her glasses as she stopped to read parking charges.<\/p>\n<p>It is an extraordinarily mundane glimpse of a woman whose face was once splashed across virtually every newspaper in the country.<\/p>\n<p>At just 18, Woodward left her home in Cheshire for what was supposed to be a gap year in America and instead found herself accused of murdering eight-month-old Matthew Eappen, convicted of second-degree murder and facing life behind bars.<\/p>\n<p>The case became an international obsession, divided medical experts and sparked furious debate on opposite sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"928\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308379684-8df9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386064\" alt=\"BGUK_3651904 - *PREMIUM-EXCLUSIVE* Bridgnorth, UNITED KINGDOM MUST CALL FOR PRICING BEFORE USAGE - *PICTURES TAKEN ON 01\/08\/2026* 'Killer Nanny' Louise Woodward Is Seen For The First Time Since HBO Revealed They Are Making A TV Series About Her Trial. The former au pair was spotted on an outing in Shropshire, England, almost 30 years after she was convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen in Newton, Massachusetts. Woodward, who was just 18 at the time, was spotted putting on a pair of glasses to read the parking charges in a car park in Bridgenorth. She was accompanied by an elderly couple and carried a fold up chair. Last week it emerged that White Lotus star Meghann Fahy will play the British au paid in a limited series from HBO entitled 'The Trial of Louise Woodward'. The series will dramatise the story of how Woodward was accused of shaking baby Matthew to death when he was left in her care by her host family in Massachusetts. The 1997 court case became a media sensation in both the United States and the U.K. Pictured: Louise Woodward BACKGRID UK 15 AUGUST 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID UK: +44 208 344 2007 \/ uksales@backgrid.com USA: +1 310 798 9111 \/ usasales@backgrid.com *Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Woodward is currently 48 years old (Picture: Backgrid)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"889\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308379737-9d01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386065\" alt=\"BGUK_3651904 - *PREMIUM-EXCLUSIVE* Bridgnorth, UNITED KINGDOM MUST CALL FOR PRICING BEFORE USAGE - *PICTURES TAKEN ON 01\/08\/2026* 'Killer Nanny' Louise Woodward Is Seen For The First Time Since HBO Revealed They Are Making A TV Series About Her Trial. The former au pair was spotted on an outing in Shropshire, England, almost 30 years after she was convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen in Newton, Massachusetts. Woodward, who was just 18 at the time, was spotted putting on a pair of glasses to read the parking charges in a car park in Bridgenorth. She was accompanied by an elderly couple and carried a fold up chair. Last week it emerged that White Lotus star Meghann Fahy will play the British au paid in a limited series from HBO entitled 'The Trial of Louise Woodward'. The series will dramatise the story of how Woodward was accused of shaking baby Matthew to death when he was left in her care by her host family in Massachusetts. The 1997 court case became a media sensation in both the United States and the U.K. Pictured: Louise Woodward BACKGRID UK 15 AUGUST 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID UK: +44 208 344 2007 \/ uksales@backgrid.com USA: +1 310 798 9111 \/ usasales@backgrid.com *Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy will portray her in a new HBO drama (Picture: Backgrid)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, three decades later, HBO is revisiting it in five-part limited series The Trial of Louise Woodward, with Fahy taking the title role.<\/p>\n<p>The series, directed by The Night Manager\u2019s Susanne Bier and written by <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/adolescence-tv-show\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Adolescence<\/a> producer Matthew Barry, will examine not only what happened to Matthew, but the extraordinary media circus that followed.<\/p>\n<p>HBO describes it as the story of how an 18-year-old British au pair was accused of shaking a baby to death, triggering an \u2018international media firestorm\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Barry has said the case raised questions about \u2018childcare, working mothers, class, and the role of an emerging 24\/7 media\u2019 which remain relevant almost 30 years later. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.givememyremote.com\/remote\/2026\/07\/30\/hbo-orders-the-trial-of-louise-woodward\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Give Me My Remote<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>But what actually happened?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 1997 case of Louise Woodward<\/h2>\n<p>Woodward arrived in the US in 1996 and began working for doctors Deborah and Sunil Eappen at their home in Newton, Massachusetts, caring for their sons Matthew and Brendan.<\/p>\n<p>On February 4, 1997, Woodward called emergency services after eight-month-old Matthew became unresponsive while in her care.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"1022\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PRI_222487163-4e7a-e1786816006946.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386088\" alt=\"Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kevin Wisniewski\/REX\/Shutterstock (281069t) LOUISE WOODWARD AFTER HER MURDER CONVICTION WAS REDUCED TO MANSLAUGHTER WHICH LED TO HER RELEASE LOUISE WOODWARD, AMERICA - NOV 1997\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>She vehemently denied deliberately harming Matthew, but was ultimately charged with first-degree murder (Picture: Kevin Wisniewski\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The baby was rushed to Boston Children\u2019s Hospital with catastrophic brain injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors discovered a subdural haematoma, retinal bleeding and a skull fracture, and prosecutors would later argue that Matthew had been violently shaken and his head slammed against a hard surface.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew never recovered. His life support was withdrawn and he died on February 9. By then, Woodward had already been arrested.<\/p>\n<p>She vehemently denied deliberately harming Matthew, but was ultimately charged with first-degree murder.<\/p>\n<p>What followed became known simply as \u2018the nanny trial\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"990\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AD_121760921-265f.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386090\" alt=\"Louise Woodward, who was jailed in the US for killing a child under her care, is expecting a baby of her own. The 35-yearold has built a new life for herself back in Britain and will give birth next. She was jailed in 1997 after being convicted of the second-degree murder of eight-monthold Matthew Eappen in Boston. She was jailed for 15 years but released after 279 days as the charge was reduced to one of involuntary manslaughter. Now married to businessman John Elkes, 32, she lives in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where she works as a dance teacher. Louise Woodward during the Panorama interview with Martin Bashir. (Photo by Jeff Overs\/BBC News &amp; Current Affairs via Getty Images)\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The au-pair was originally sentenced for 15 years but released after 279 days as the charge was reduced to one of involuntary manslaughter (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The case was already inherently shocking: a teenage British au pair, two doctor parents and the unexplained death of an eight-month-old baby.<\/p>\n<p>But its timing turned it into something even bigger.<\/p>\n<p>The trial was televised in America at a time when British courts remained firmly closed to cameras, allowing millions of viewers to watch the testimony and arguments unfold almost in real time.<\/p>\n<p>By October 1997, Woodward\u2019s trial had effectively become transatlantic appointment television.<\/p>\n<p>At its heart was a bitter disagreement over how and when Matthew sustained his fatal injuries. Prosecution experts argued that his injuries were consistent with what was then widely called shaken baby syndrome and had been inflicted while he was alone with Woodward on February 4.<\/p>\n<p>The defence presented a radically different explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Its experts argued that some of Matthew\u2019s injuries were older, including the skull fracture, and suggested an earlier injury had caused a blood clot which later began bleeding again.<\/p>\n<p>Woodward took the stand herself.<\/p>\n<p>She acknowledged shaking Matthew in an attempt to wake him but denied doing so violently. She also disputed police interpretations of her descriptions of having \u2018popped\u2019 the baby onto a bed and placed him on a bathroom floor.<\/p>\n<p>After a three-week trial, the jury was sent away to decide her fate.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IP_148717-164e-e1786816123641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386091\" alt=\"British au pair Louise Woodward (L) sits next to attorney Barry Scheck (R) during closing arguments by the prosecution in her murder trial in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, MA 28 October. Woodward is accused of killing eight-month-old Mathew Eappen, while she was working as an au pair. AFP PHOTO\/POOL\/BOSTON GLOBE\/Wendy MAEDA ...CLJ...CRIME\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The murder trial took place in Middlesex Superior Court in Massachusetts (Picture: EPA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Crucially, Woodward\u2019s defence had requested that jurors not be given involuntary manslaughter as a possible lesser offence, effectively leaving them to choose between murder and acquittal. Massachusetts\u2019 highest court would later rule that the judge had erred in agreeing to that request, although it found the error ultimately harmless. <\/p>\n<p>On October 30, the gamble spectacularly failed and Woodward was convicted of second-degree murder.<\/p>\n<p>She cried out in court: \u2018I didn\u2019t do anything\u2026 Why did they do that to me?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The verdict carried a mandatory life sentence, with Woodward required to spend at least 15 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why didn\u2019t Louise Woodward go to prison?<\/h2>\n<p>But then the case took another extraordinary turn.<\/p>\n<p>Just 11 days later, trial judge Hiller Zobel effectively overruled the severity of the jury\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n<p>He reduced Woodward\u2019s conviction from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, concluding the evidence supported culpability but not the malice required for murder.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I am morally certain that allowing this defendant on this evidence to remain convicted of second-degree murder would be a miscarriage of justice,\u2019 he wrote. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"516\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IP_505680-b2f0.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386129\" alt=\"Louise Woodward\/Southampton...Accused nanny, Louise Woodward during a debate at the Southampton Institute, today (Friday), on Cameras in the Courtroom today (Friday). WATCH FOR PA STORY. Photo Tim Ockenden\/PA *EDI*...A\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Woodward\u2019s defense argued that some of Matthew\u2019s injuries were sustained weeks earlier (Picture: PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Zobel instead sentenced Woodward to 279 days \u2013 exactly the amount of time she had already spent in custody \u2013 and she walked free.<\/p>\n<p>The decision prompted scenes of jubilation among Woodward\u2019s supporters in Britain but devastation for Matthew\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n<p>It is important, however, that the dramatic reduction is not confused with an acquittal.<\/p>\n<p>Woodward remained convicted of causing Matthew\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors appealed in an attempt to reinstate the murder conviction, while Woodward\u2019s lawyers sought to have her remaining conviction overturned.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"529\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IP_526162-8c9c.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386132\" alt=\"DOCTORS GILLES AND NELSON LOOK OVER X-RAYS OF MATTHEW EAPPEN...WAS18:NANNY:LOS ANGELES,8MAR99 - Following a news conference at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, Dr. Floyd Gilles (L) and Dr. Marvin Nelson look over the x-rays of baby Matthew Eappen, March 8. After reviewing the medical records, they determined that the child died from strangulation, not from being shaken as the prosecution contended in the case against Louise Woodward, his English nanny. Gilles is a pathologist, Nelson is a radiologist. (NO SALES) sr\/Photo by John T. Barr REUTERS...I...CRIM DIP VIO\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Dr. Floyd Gilles (L) and Dr. Marvin Nelson look over the x-rays of baby Matthew Eappen (Picture: J.T. Barr\/Childrens Hospital LA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In June 1998, Massachusetts\u2019 Supreme Judicial Court upheld Zobel\u2019s decision to reduce the conviction to involuntary manslaughter, finding he had acted within his discretion. <\/p>\n<p>Woodward was then able to return to Britain.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is shaken baby syndrome?<\/h2>\n<p>Yet the medical argument at the heart of her case never entirely disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>In the decades since Matthew\u2019s death, the science and terminology surrounding shaken baby syndrome has become the subject of significant debate.<\/p>\n<p>The broader diagnosis is now commonly referred to as abusive head trauma, and mainstream paediatric medicine continues to recognise violent shaking as a potential mechanism of serious and fatal brain injury in infants.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IP_311670-5c74.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386139\" alt=\"CALOVIC CEBULSKI HODGES...Members of the Friends of Louise Woodward Boston Support Group, Chris Calovic, left, Debra Cebulski, center, and John Hodges, talk to reporters Tuesday, June 16, 1998, outside the Suffolk Superior Courthouse in Boston, following the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's 4-3 ruling, Tuesday, in Boston. The court ruled that a judge's decision to reduce Woodward's verdict and sentence in the death of infant Matthew Eappen in 1997, was correct, making Woodward is free to return to her home in England. (AP Photo\/Eileen Miller)...A...$H\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>As the case gained widespread media attention, opinions were divided on Woodward\u2019s culpability (Picture: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the same time, understanding of other conditions and mechanisms capable of producing some findings historically associated with shaken baby syndrome has developed, prompting controversy over some older convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most strikingly in Woodward\u2019s case, paediatric radiologist Patrick Barnes \u2013 who appeared as a prosecution witness at her trial \u2013 later became a prominent critic of the way shaken baby cases were diagnosed.<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, he said that if he were giving evidence in the case with the benefit of contemporary medical knowledge, he would testify that Matthew\u2019s injuries \u2018could have been accidental\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>None of that has altered Woodward\u2019s conviction. <\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s parents have also remained convinced that their son died as a result of her actions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IP_231945-8c8d.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29386141\" alt=\"LOUISE WOODWARD AND FATHER GARY IN APPEAL HEARING...ATTENTION EDITORS CAPTION CORRECTION : BOS02:CRIME-NANNY:BOSTON,9MAR98 - British nanny Louise Woodward sits in court with her father Gary Woodward March 9. Lawyers battled in court over whether she can go home to England or must return to prison for the death of an eight-month-old baby. A jury convicted Woodward last October of the second-degree murder of baby Matthew Eappen, who died of severe head injuries, but the trial judge, Hiller Zoberl, later reduced that verdict to manslaughter and sentenced Woodward to time served. Prosecutors made their final appeal March 9 to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to reinstate the jury's verdict. jrb\/Pool Photo by George Martell REUTERS...I...CRIM DIP\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Woodward\u2019s family, including father Gary (R), supported her throughout the trial (Picture: REUTERS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Deborah and Sunil subsequently founded the Matty Eappen Foundation, dedicated to educating people about abusive head trauma.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where is Louise Woodward now?<\/h2>\n<p>Woodward, meanwhile, has largely retreated from the public life that was forced upon her as a teenager.<\/p>\n<p>After returning to Britain, she studied law at London South Bank University and graduated in 2002 before beginning legal training. She eventually left the profession and went on to teach dance.<\/p>\n<p>Woodward met businessman Antony Elkes in 2006, with the couple marrying in 2013 and welcoming a daughter the following year.<\/p>\n<p>She has continued to maintain her innocence.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have done nothing wrong,\u2019 she said in a rare interview years after the trial. \u2018I am entitled to enjoy my life. I am not going to apologise for being happy.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Her latest appearance therefore comes at a strange moment, as a case she has spent decades living in the shadow of is about to be recreated for an entirely new generation.<\/p>\n<p>HBO has yet to announce a release date for The Trial of Louise Woodward, but Fahy\u2019s casting ensures the story is already attracting attention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/14\/black-mirror-director-reveals-scathing-response-offer-harry-potter-tv-reboot-29378043\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Black Mirror director reveals scathing response to offer for Harry Potter TV reboot<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/12\/every-actor-harry-potter-tv-reboot-nicholas-hoult-joins-cast-29359119\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Every actor in Harry Potter TV reboot as Nicholas Hoult joins cast<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/12\/nicholas-hoult-play-fan-favourite-villain-harry-potter-season-2-29357007\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Nicholas Hoult fan groups distance themselves from actor after Harry Potter casting news: \u2018Do better\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Louise Woodward has been spotted in a rare sighting as her story returns to the spotlight thanks to an HBO series (Picture: Backgrid) Almost 30 years after Louise Woodward became one of the most notorious young women in Britain, her extraordinary story is heading back into the spotlight. The former au pair, now 48, has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308412630-3bbd_1786819669.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}