The actor, who died in 2016 aged 69 from pancreatic cancer, reveals his misgivings in his archive of personal papers covering more than 40 years on stage and screen.

The collection, with a price tag of £950,000, is being sold by the TV actor Neil Pearson, who has another career as a seller of rare books. The archive reveals how Rickman’s concerns about the role emerged in 2002, soon after he finished the second film in the series, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.