This week's UK news: 28 June 2015
28 June 2015


New Spiderman is an English teenager

Tom Holland, 19, has been chosen to play the superhero Spiderman in a new film. Holland beat 1,500 other actors to the part, and is the first actual teenager to play Peter Parker.

Holland's first big role was in the theatre production of Billy Elliott, the show about a miner's son who becomes a dancer. Since then he has studied at the Brit School in South London, which has produced pop stars including Adele and Amy Winehouse. 

He will first be seen as Spiderman in next year's film Captain America: Civil War.

 

Harry Potter play to be shown in London

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has said that a play will tell a new part of Harry Potter's story. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will open in London next year. Rowling has tweeted that this is "an untold part of Harry's story" and that is is not a prequel (something which happened before the story in the books). She has also said that theatre is the proper place to tell this story.

JK Rowling made the announcement about the play on the 19th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book. Tickets for the play will go on sale in the autumn.

 

Driver gets into trouble for staying in one lane

For the two years it has been illegal to stay in the middle lane of a motorway if you could pull into the left hand lane. This is because traffic experts said that this causes real problems on busy roads.

Now the first person has been taken to court for refusing to change lane. The man kept his van in the middle lane of a motorway, and other drivers had to swerve to avoid him. He refused to pay a fine and was taken to court. He was ordered to pay GBP 500 and the costs of the court.

Most UK motorways are very busy and drivers get very cross if somebody staying in the middle lane makes it hard to overtake. This is called "lane hogging".

 

Last episode of Top Gear shown 

Top Gear is made by the UK's public service broadcaster, the BBC. It is one of the world's most popular shows and its presenters - Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - are very well known. The trouble is that Jeremy Clarkson had to leave the show in the last series after he punched a member of staff, and so the old team will not be on the show any more.

The last show with the old team has just been shown on the BBC. Now there will be a new presenter, called Chris Evans. The old Top Gear team are very likely to make a new car programme for a different broadcaster - but it cannot be called Top Gear.

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