Warner Bros releases ticket date for Leavesden's Harry Potter studio tour (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Warner Bros releases ticket date for Leavesden's Harry Potter studio tour

12:43pm Monday 15th August 2011 in Theatre By Melanie Dakin

Harry Potter fans will be counting down the seconds until Thursday, October 13 when tickets go on sale for the much anticipated studio tour, which opens spring 2012.

In a public announcement made at Indigo in the O2 at 4.30pm yesterday, presenter Ben Shepherd outlined what visitors will be able to see on the tour and unveiled a picture of the studio layout, which at 150,000 sq ft is the size of three football pitches and boasts two sound stages.

"You couldn't find a more nondescript location," he says drolly of our beloved Leavesden Studios. "Yet there is nowhere in the world to match the detail and artistry of a Harry Potter set. I remember my first day when I met Voldemort coming back from the toilet and seeing a Death Eater in the canteen tucking into pie and chips.

"Visitors will be able to see the grandeur of the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common Room and Dumbledore's Office - you can't help feeling naughty when you're in the headmaster's room."

Joining Ben for the launch were Evanna Lynch, Warwick Davis and his wife Sam and creature and make-up designer Nick Dudman.

Nick and Warwick go back a long way having met on The Return of the Jedi. They went on to work together on Willow and Labyrinth before embarking on a ten-plus year friendship with Harry Potter. Warwick Davis has been with the Harry Potter series since the start most notably as Professor Flitwick and Griphook the Goblin.

Nick describes the process of making a creature head for Warwick.

"You have to think of the human face as machinery moving the skin around. The head is made of three pieces, a balaclava, a face mask and a mouth and chin piece that are glued together on the actor. At 4am it's like applying cold liver to someone's face but it gradually warms up during the day.

"The hair is all hand-knotted and the eyebrows individually punched in and all the pieces are pre-made painted and haired where possible, but even after all that you still need four hours in makeup."

Warwick jokes that he fell asleep once during the process and woke up as someone else.

"I went through it more than 60 times in the last two films. It's a long process for me to go from good looking to that," says Warwick pointing at the goblin head. "Nick's a clever man."

The studio tour highlight for many will be seeing all the models, masks and creatures that Nick and his team have conjured out of J K Rowling's books and painstakingly made real. You'll encounter Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Aragog the spider and even Neville's cactus.

Every feather, hair, tail, mane or pelt is lovingly recreated.

"Usually all the models we make are destroyed afterwards or go into a private archive in the producer's house," explains Nick. "Every creature we create starts out as a model even if it's digital. Everything is still pretty much as they were when we made them and they'll be cleaned and made safe for years to come. This is the first time our work will be preserved in this way."

Evanna Lynch shares her excitement at seeing the set for the first time, which is exactly how visitors will feel when the attraction opens its doors next spring.

"Oh this is where Ron and Harry first met," says Evanna bending down and pretending to worship the spot. There's nothing she wants more than for other fans to share her excitement but stresses there's only one way to get in.

"There's no point turning up on broomsticks or kestrels, you have to pre-book tickets," jokes Evanna whose tenacity as a Harry Potter fan landed her the role of Luna Lovegood in the highest grossing film series of all time.

"I wouldn't have got the part if I wasn't a huge fan," says Evanna. "I was a professional Harry Potter fan and on the web I saw an announcement for an open call and I auditioned.

"Luna inspires me, she's so open and happy and she loves the world. It's as if she's at peace with everything. Harry Potter has made me into a more positive person."

Warwick agrees that Leavesden holds part of his history.

"I've spent more than ten years on the series, which is unheard of in the film world. it's like a soap opera on a movie-sized scale. The craftsmanship that goes into the films is amazing. You'll be able to experience such things as the detail and intricacy of the carvings on the doors to the Great Hall that you can't fully appreciate on screen.

"For me it's like a historical building, which is most unusual for film sets as they generally get pulled down. Harry Potter is my overriding memory. I have a great affection for it."

Sadly, Warwick seems to have a bit of a problem with his geography.

"North London is not the most glamorous place in the world," he continues - as we all know Warner Bros Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter is not in London at all it's in Leavesden in Hertfordshire, which is near Watford.

He adds: "Leavesden did become my home for ten years and I want to go back there myself and relive the memories."

To pre-book tickets, which go on sale from Thursday, October 13, go to: www.wbstudiotour.co.uk