EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY MARCUS TOWNEND: At Aintree Potters Corner could become a Grand National hero and one with a link to one of the race and sport's biggest names.

MARCUS TOWNEND: We've had the void Grand National, the bomb scare Grand National and dramas like Devon Loch collapsing on the run-in with the race at his mercy in 1956.

After around 27C today, the Met Office forecasts a showery 21C Monday before widespread sunshine from Tuesday as highs climb back to 25C from Thursday for the weekend.

Warm air from Spain will bring dry and sunny weather across the UK this weekend, starting on Friday, according to the Met Office, with temperatures soaring.

Mystery surrounds the city as archaeologists attempt to uncover why it was abandoned suddenly by unearthing artefacts from around 400AD when its inhabitants fled with no obvious explanation.

English-Australian actress Miriam Margolyes, 77, is adored by young fans across the globe thanks to her roles in family-friendly films such as as Babe, Mulan and Harry Potter. 

Tom Felton shared a screenshot on Instagram on Wednesday, which revealed that he's a Hufflepuff after taking the official Wizarding World quiz online. But the actor, who played Slytherin member Draco Malfoy, previously tweeted that he's a Gryffindor and "HP" author J.K. Rowling agreed with the assessment. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories."Harry Potter" star Tom Felton, known for playing Slytherin house member Draco Malfoy in the movies, said that he just found out he's a Hufflepuff. "a sad day....on so many levels #harrypotterathome," the 32-year-old actor captioned a series of screenshots he shared on Instagram. The first image revealed that Felton's display name on his Wizarding World passport is the same as the character he portrayed on-screen, rather than his real name. The second

The National Lottery has announced £355million of funding to over 1,300 elite athletes across the four year Olympiad ahead of Rio 2016.

Meghan Markle's, 38, best friend Jessica Mulroney, 40, from Toronto, shared the selfie with her father-in-law Brian on Instagram, commenting: 'Sometimes you win the lottery when it comes to your in-laws.'

If the winner is an individual, their new-found fortune would catapult them into the Sunday Times Rich List of the 1,000 wealthiest people living in the UK or with British business links.

Earlier this year, the Government signalled that it would hike the age at which Britons can buy a £2 ticket from the twice-weekly draw to 18. But now it will only be raised for instant win games.

ANDREW PIERCE: Sir John Major is not often considered the most influential prime minister of the 20th century. But we shouldn't forget one achievement: the creation of the National Lottery.

Culture minister Mims Davies said she was launching a consultation on whether the existing age limit of 16 for all UK National Lottery games should be raised for some or all games and products.

Sir John Major decided ministers should be seen buying tickets to publicise the launch of the prize in November 1994.

The movie buff from Peterborough, who studied Video and Film at university in Dundalk, in Ireland, said he hopes the money will help improve the life of his 23-year-old brother, Robert.

Simon Jones, 40, from Cardiff, appears grinning in the new wedding-themed commercial alongside other guests that was aired on Monday to advertise the £69million Euromillions jackpot.

Vicky Mitchell, from Halifax, (pictured with her partner, Adam Fry) used the last £1.50 left in her online account from a previous win to buy a line for the August 12 draw.

Kashaf Ali Khan later admitted money laundering by using criminal money to buy the house in his father's name in Solihull. He's now sold the property to pay off the confiscation order.

Edward Putman, (pictured filming members of the press outside court today) 54, of Hertfordshire, claimed the jackpot on 28 August 2009 - just 10 days before his ticket from 11 March was due to expire.

Giles Knibbs (pictured) who worked at Camelot in Watford, told his ex-partner John Coleyshaw that Edward Putman had not paid him his agreed share of the fraudulent winnings.

Edward Putman, 54, of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, is accused of working with an insider to con the lottery operator Camelot into handing over an unclaimed jackpot.

The National Lottery website has crashed as punters try to make last-minute bids to grab a record £169m EuroMilions jackpot that must go tonight.

Andy Carter, from The National Lottery, said, 'This is the biggest win ever on The National Lottery and we look forward to helping the ticket-holder start to enjoy their new found wealth.'

The former model, 47, urned heads ahead of her dance stint as she attended the National Lottery Awards 2019 at London 's BBC Television Centre on Tuesday evening.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 29, and the singer, 38, attended the National Lottery Awards 2019 at London's BBC Television Centre on Tuesday evening.

As the National Lottery celebrates its 25th anniversary this month on November 19, here are a list of questions to keep your brain ticking.

Buying one ticket every week over the life of Britain's National Lottery would have cost £1,625. The same amount, used to buy shares, would have generated £4,000, an investment firm found.

Twenty-five winners who hit the jackpot over 25 consecutive years of The National Lottery. The National Lottery celebrates its first ever draw on November 19, 1994.

Sarah Cockings (pictured), 36, who lives in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, with her partner and three children, won £3,045,705 on April 30, 2005, when she was just 21.

National Lottery is giving ticket holders free entry to more than 500 UK venues, which have received funding, for its 25th birthday and to say thanks to players who contribute £40billion to good causes.

Keith Butterley, 43, from Sheffield, threatened to jump from the building with the toddler, before making on a bike with the child balanced on the handle bars.

Despite winning the £1 million jackpot on Saturday, Didzis Pirags who works as a chef in Broughton, Preston, still worked all the way through Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

John and Allison McDonald, of Stockton on Tees, County Durham, matched all six numbers on a Lucky Dip ticket then found out three days later that their son Ewan, 15, was cancer free.

Anwar Batson has been jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to four offences under the Computer Misuse Act, at Southwark Crown Court today. He used 'Sentry MBA' programme.

Sofina Sarwar, 34, of Leicester, denies knowing anything about the money Haroon Cassim, 36, took from Camelot and Yopa Property while he worked for both firms between 2010 and 2018.

Father-of-two Mark Goodram, 36, from Bolton, claims to have bought the winning scratchcard from a Waitrose supermarket in Clapham, south London, in April last year.

The National Lottery is set to join the fight against coronavirus by distributing up to £300million in funds to support the most vulnerable across the UK during the crisis.

The National Lottery has announced a slew of campaigns for organisations all over the UK hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with a £600 million fund set-up to help.

The National Lottery website and app are back up and running ahead of tonight's £5million draw after being down for nine hours today due to a power failure.

A selection of illustrations by Beatrix Potter are set to feature in the exhibition, Mushrooms: The Art, Design And Future Of Fungi, opening this week at Somerset House in London.

JACOB REES-MOGG: The stakes are unquestionably high in parliament for the next two weeks - and a six-month delay is expected for try and pursue remaining in the EU.

AMANDA PLATELL Was J.K. Rowling channelling her fearless hero Harry Potter when she took on the trans rights lobby?

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Only Fools And Horses has topped a poll of classic TV programmes being binge-watched by viewers seeking solace during the coronavirus crisis.

Armed with two balloons full of helium, Alan called the host out for doing impressions of his distinctive voice after he last appeared on the show two years ago.

The actor and director became a household name on the big screen after appearing to huge critical acclaim as Hans Gruber, Bruce Willis’s sardonic adversary, in Die Hard.

An album of evocative photographs showing Rickman's starting steps in the dramatic world has come to light after it was released by his alma mater, Latymer Upper School in West London.

In a 2011 interview the actor, who died last week aged 69, said author Rowling had given him a 'tiny, little, left of field' detail to help his portrayal of antihero Professor Severus Snape.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday - the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts - she wrote: 'Please don't start flame wars over it, but this year I'd like to apologise for killing (whispers)... Snape.'

The punter beat odds of almost 140 million to one to scoop the EuroMillions jackpot which will catapult them into the list of the UK's 1,000 wealthiest people.

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov edged out Canadian eighth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-6(3) in a scrappy first round encounter at the Rotterdam Open on Monday.