Daniel Radcliffe reveals truth behind his ‘Coronavirus scare’

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out after he was reported to be ‘the first famous person to be publicly confirmed’ to have the virus that is currently wreaking havoc across the globe. He confirmed that the reports were fake – and offered an explanation behind the rumour.

Daniel Radcliffe reveals truth behind his ‘Coronavirus scare’
© Getty Images
Daniel Radcliffe reveals truth behind his ‘Coronavirus scare’

Daniel Radcliffe has put an end to rumours that he has been diagnosed with coronavirus. This week, a tweet from a fake account claiming to be the BBC said: ‘Daniel Radcliffe tests positive for coronavirus. The actor is said to be the first famous person to be publicly confirmed.’ and the rumour quickly spread.

Discover our latest podcast

However, the Harry Potter star rubbished the rumours on Wednesday, saying: ‘It's funny you ask me that today because I walked into the hair and makeup room on the play yesterday, and the makeup artist was like, 'My niece has just texted me and told me you've got corona. I was like, 'What?!' He showed me a tweet, it was like, 'Daniel Radcliffe becomes first famous person to contract coronavirus,' I was like, what?!’

Thankfully, Daniel is perfectly healthy and hasn’t been infected with COVID-19 – and this serves as a lesson for Twitter users to check their sources! The account which tweeted the fake news could have been recognised as a fake account from the fact that there was no blue tick present after the username.

But with his famous sense of humour, the former boy wizard did suggest a reason why people might have been so quick to believe the rumours, saying ‘I think it's just because I look ill all the time, so you can believably say it about me. 'Cause I'm very pale.’

Meanwhile, several famous faces have been confirmed to be suffering from the Coronavirus, including actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who are in isolation in Australia but said to be doing well, Arsenal Football Club head coach Mikel Arteta and Canadian President Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Grégoire, who fell ill after attending a speaking event in the UK.

Idris Elba reveals that he's tested positive for Coronavirus Idris Elba reveals that he's tested positive for Coronavirus