The process of adapting the hefty Harry Potter books into movies inevitably spelled tragedy for some minor characters. Sorry to Peeves the poltergeist. Sorry to Ministry of Magic gambling obsessive Ludo Bagman. Sorry to the Gaunt family. There was just no room for you. But Potter fans have declared that one cut character deserved more on the big screen: Winky the house elf.
Winky first showed up in the book version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which introduced us to a lot more Harry Potter characters from the Ministry of Magic due to the Triwizard Tournament. But while we got to meet Barty Crouch and his psychotic son in the movie version, the Crouch family house elf never joined the Harry Potter cast.
The elf plays a key role in the book version of Goblet of Fire, helping to keep Barty Crouch Jr’s escape from Azkaban secret and taking the blame for some of the crimes committed by one of the most devious Harry Potter villains. She is freed from service by Crouch Sr as a punishment and ends up working in the Hogwarts kitchens, addicted to Butterbeer.
In a Reddit thread discussing which Harry Potter characters should have been “more fleshed out” in the movies, the top comment said Winky was the prime candidate. The thread’s original creator responded, saying “justice for Winky”.
Winky is certainly a memorable character on the page, but we can see why she was deemed surplus to requirements in the movies. Crouch Jr’s story is complicated and tangled in the books, while most of it was simply left unexplained on the big screen. It was left to David Tennant in his most unhinged ever performance to make Crouch Jr work.
Thankfully, Tennant is one of the best actors around and he never disappoints. Just check out our take on his Doctor Who return in our The Star Beast review for more on that.
Of course, the decision to cut Winky from the Potter adaptations meant that the parallel storyline of Hermione Granger’s crusade for elf rights had to fall by the wayside too. This is a huge part of Hermione’s character in the books, so it was a shame that even the best movies in the franchise never found time to explore it.
With the Harry Potter TV series release date on the horizon, we hope that Hermione’s creation of SPEW – she never did work on that acronym – and the tragic tale of Winky will finally get some time in the sun.
If you’re after more from Potter, check out our guide to watching all of the Harry Potter movies in order. You can also find out why Harry Potter’s saddest death isn’t Dobby or Dumbledore and learn about the power Umbridge has that other villains can’t use.
We’ve also looked ahead to possible new movies in the Potter world, including the Fantastic Beasts 4 release date and the Cursed Child release date. And as it’s December, we’ve even come up with some possible stories for a Harry Potter Christmas special.
The creator of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, has made a number of transphobic remarks on social media in recent years. If you’d like to learn more about transgender equality or lend your support, here are two charities we encourage you to visit: the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US, and Mermaids in the UK.