Rowling continued: “When I realised I was definitely going to go, I would take a few pages of the manuscript into work each day… just a few pages so he wouldn’t realise.

“Gradually, in a cupboard in the staff room, bit by bit, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew because I suspected…he would burn it. The only thing I prioritised beyond that was my daughter but at that point, she was still inside me as safe as she could be.”

Arantes has since responded to this, telling Daily Mail: “I don’t know why she is saying what she is now, maybe she is delirious from three years of Covid lockdown. I was surprised when I read about this. I deny it. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would I do something like that? Maybe you should ask her.” 

Meanwhile, the 54-year-old who still lives in Portugal claims he helped her write Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

READ MORE: JK Rowling addresses ‘ruining her legacy’ over transgender row