The best of this evening's telly.

‘Harry Potter’ star Michael Gambon has signed up for another JK Rowling adaptation after he was cast in the small-screen adaptation of her novel ‘The Casual Vacancy’.

THE hanging men: Ireland has executed 29 people - the last in 1954. The Pierrepoint brothers carried out nearly all of them.

THE darkest and most adult of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (12A) brings to a close the epic saga of the teenage wizard’s battle against the forces of evil.

Michael Gambon today pulled out of a new high-profile Alan Bennett play after being ordered to rest, but joked: “I’m temporarily not firing on all cylinders.”

Kevin Costner has been in need of a great film like this for several years. The man who grabbed a clutch of Oscars recently suffered a massive career slump via several of the worst films ever made.

With such a sterling cast to work with, McPherson brings us a cleverly constructed tale of two no-hope actors - Caine and Moran - who set out, Sting-like, to pull a con on a hood (Gambon) who has been a bit of a menace.

Sir Michael Gambon will play Professor Albus Dumbledore in the next Harry Potter film, it was announced today.