'Harry Potter to be killed off'

JK Rowling is poised to kill off Harry Potter, it has been claimed

Actor Jim Dale, the voice of the bespectacled boy wizard in the US audio books, says the seventh book will be the end for Harry.

Multi-millionaire author Rowling has started to write the seventh and final novel but has kept its content under wraps.

But British Carry On actor Dale told the New York Post: "She's lived with Harry Potter so long she really wants to kill him off."

Dale has met the Edinburgh-based author several times to make previous recordings of her hit books.

Rowling has joked in the past that she might kill off all the characters in the final book.

Asked whether she would write books about Potter when he reaches adulthood, she replied: "You have to wait and see whether he survives to be a grown-up."

Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe also believes his character might die.

"It's dangerous to say 'Daniel thinks Harry might die'," he said recently.

"But I do maintain there is a possibility he could be killed in the final book."

The Potter books have sparked a frenzy of speculation about the fate of the central characters - Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley, was tipped to be killed off in book four but survived.

The sixth novel in the series, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, shifted 10 million copies worldwide in the first 24 hours of its release.

The fourth film, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, is number one in the US and UK box office charts.

The movie, which has a worldwide take of £323 million so far, has smashed British box office records.

The film is darker than the previous movies and was given a 12A certificate, requiring younger viewers to be accompanied by an adult.

Director David Yates has signed up for the next Potter instalment after British film-maker Mike Newell turned down the offer of another Potter film.

Radcliffe recently said he was not sure how many Potter films he would be doing, saying: "I'm not absolutely confident that I'm doing them all."