The 36-year-old actress played Hogwarts witch Hermione Granger in all eight films of the franchise alongside co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.

Ms Watson has turned her attention to studies after her iconic role in J.K. Rowling’s series, as well as parts in Hollywood films The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Little Women.

She had been studying a master’s degree in creative writing at Oxford University since September 2023.

READ MORE: Mary Berry talks turning 91 after finding ‘joy’ at retirement home

Emma Watson reveals Hollywood broke her

“I came to work looking for friendship and that was a very painful experience for me outside of Harry Potter and in Hollywood. Like bone-breakingly painful”

“Most people don’t come to those environments looking for friendships. They’re… pic.twitter.com/YFoYV60fYc

— Jack (@Jackkk) June 1, 2026

It was revealed in February 2025 that Ms Watson had switched to a DPhil, which is Oxford’s version of a PhD.

Quotes from one of Ms Watson’s most recent interviews on her break from Hollywood have resurfaced this week.

Last year, the 36-year-old appeared on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast and spoke about many topics, including her career.

Talking about Harry Potter, she said: “It’s so unusual to make a set of films for 12 years. We were a community; we really were.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson ‘parties in pub until 4.30am’ celebrating win

“So I took that as an expectation into my other workplaces, and I got my a– kicked. I really did.”

Speaking on the difference between Harry Potter and other filming projects across Hollywood in the years following, Ms Watson admitted: “It was bone-breakingly painful.

“I’m just not thick-skinned. Maybe I just wasn’t built for those kinds of highly competitive environments. It broke me.”

The Hermione Granger actress’s most recent role was in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women remake, which was released seven years ago.

Saj Malik, who is also a city and county councillor for Cowley, was caught speeding in a Toyota Corolla on the Oxford Road through Tiddington near Thame on January 14.

The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence at a hearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Friday, May 29.

Malik, of Mary Price Close in Headington, was issued with a £660 fine, ordered to pay £264 victim surcharge and his driver’s licence was endorsed with five penalty points.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson ‘was banned from driving’ by doctor

He told this newspaper that he considers himself a “pretty good driver” and has enjoyed a clean licence for more than 20 years.

But, he admitted, “the circumstances took the better of me”.

He said: “I said this to the court already, I am a very experienced taxi driver and in over 20 years I have never received any disciplines on my licence.

“Since November 2025, my wife has been struggling with heart problems and was rushed to the hospital three times during this period.

“On the day of the offence, she called me saying she could not breathe and her heart was beating very fast.

“I am aware that this does not excuse my actions, however my state of mind was clouded with concerns of my wife and mother of my children.”

The taxi driver is a county councillor for Cowley and retained his Temple Cowley seat at this year’s city council elections.

He has been a councillor for 22 years, having been first elected to Oxford City Council in 2004.

First elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor, representing the Cowley Marsh ward, he crossed the floor to join Labour in 2006.

But following his suspension from the Labour party in 2019, Malik is now sitting as an independent.

The court fine is not the first time the councillor has found himself in trouble, having been ‘formally censured’ by Oxford City Council for his behaviour in a debate about traffic filters.

Alongside fellow Cowley councillor Amar Latif, he was found to have behaved in an “intimidating, insulting, undermining and denigrating way” to officers and councillors by a standards committee in November.

The complaints both came from the Labour leader of the city council Susan Brown and deputy leader Ed Turner, and related to a full council meeting on March 18, 2024.

He said at the time: “This is the very first complaint against me, which I was very disappointed [about].

“I have been a member of this one council when one councillor called a female councillor a patronising cow. Nothing happened.

“There are many other [examples] I can give. The goalposts have changed.”

The programme follows the former Top Gear presenter’s attempts to run Diddly Squat Farm, a 1,000‑acre holding near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds.

Having debuted in 2021, the Prime Video show documents everything from livestock and crop failures to red tape, planning rows and village tensions.

Viewers also see the day‑to‑day realities of modern agriculture through local characters including contractor Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland.

READ MORE: Four new Clarkson’s Farm series five episodes released TODAY

Filmed on location in West Oxfordshire, the show has helped turn Diddly Squat into a tourist attraction and sparked national debate about farming policy.

The fifth series of Clarkson’s Farm was released on Prime Video this week.

Four new episodes were released today (Wednesday, June 3), and Mr Clarkson had to make a tough choice at the end of the fourth episode.

The 66-year-old, who has often described his pigs as his favourite part of life at Diddly Squat, has been forced to part with the animals after facing up to the economics of the farm.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson ‘parties in pub until 4.30am’ celebrating win

A butcher warned him that the herd was not yielding enough meat to make financial sense, leaving Mr Clarkson with little option but to let them go, a decision that clearly hit him hard.

By the end of episode four, he explained to viewers that he had a task he was “dreading” because his much‑loved pigs were failing to produce sufficient meat.

“I had known there was only one option,” he admitted.

He told land agent Mr Ireland: “I love the pigs, I have absolutely… I have just been delighted every day I’m down there.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson reveals surprise guest stars on new Clarkson’s Farm

“They make my heart sing, I’m so happy. But we are running a business here, and they make no financial sense at all.”

All of the pigs ultimately had to be sent away.

“The difference this time, though, is that there would be no new piglets to replace them,” he reinforced.

Mr Clarkson appeared visibly shaken as the animals were loaded into a trailer ready to leave the farm, and “in tears”, as reported by several publications.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson reveals young farmers are supporting Reform UK

“It was even harder to say goodbye to the next group,” he added, noting that this batch included one of the original sows they had bought three years earlier.

“It’s for the better good,” Mr Cooper assured him, to which Mr Clarkson replied: “It’s still f****** sad.”

“As long as you cry once I’ve left,” the trailer driver Jess said, and Jeremy quickly replied: “I’m not going to cry.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.