JK Rowling: Potter Witch Based On Real Person

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed that she based witch Dolores Umbridge on a woman she met and hated in real life.

Writing on her Pottermore website, she delved into the background of one of the most evil characters in the hit films.

Played by British actress Imelda Staunton, Dolores Umbridge combined brutality with fluffy pink cardigans and kitten-decorated plates.

She tormented young wizard Harry at Hogwarts, even making him carve "I must not tell lies" into his own hand.

Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, said the witch was based on a person she had "disliked intensely on sight".

She added: "The woman in question returned my antipathy with interest. Why we took against each other so instantly, heartily and (on my side, at least) irrationally, I honestly cannot say."

Rowling said Umbridge was "one of the characters for whom I feel the purest dislike".

She added: "Her desire to control, to punish, and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort's unvarnished espousal of evil."

The 5,500-word Pottermore entry also reveals the history of Azkaban prison.

The Pottermore website is used by Rowling to give fans a glimpse into the lives of Harry, Ron, Hermione and the other characters after the books ended.

In another entry she showed fans how Harry's life looked at the age of 34, describing him as returning to Hogwarts with "threads of silver" in his black hair and a cut over his cheekbone symbolising membership in secret wizardry group the Aurors.