Do you remember watching Harry Potter for the first time on the big screen?

This month marks 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – the first book and film in the hugely successful series – came out in the cinema.

And in that first film, audiences were transported into the magical world where the pages of the beloved books by JK Rowling were brought to life.

It gave us our first glimpses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of Diagon Alley and Gringotts Bank, of the Hogwarts Express and of the Dursley's home, where unloved Harry was forced to live under the stairs.

We saw our favourite characters in the flesh, each perfectly cast from a pool of British actors, many already screen icons.

We also had our first run-in with He Who Must Not Be Named (OK, OK, Voldemort) as he prepared to rise again following his downfall a decade earlier.

Movie goers around the world queued for tickets to see the highly-anticipated film, some dressing up to mark the occasion and others returning to watch it multiple times (four for me).

One cinema in Strood even employed extra staff to prepare for the influx of customers.

To mark the milestone anniversary, we dipped into the archive to see how Kent celebrated the release of HPATPS, which became the highest grossing film of 2001.

We also explore Harry's world, which is so very loved by audiences and readers across the planet.

Where it all began

JK Rowling came up for the idea for Harry Potter in 1990 while sitting on a train travelling from Manchester to London.

She says on her website: "Suddenly I had the idea of a boy wizard who went to wizarding school. Harry Potter and Hogwarts came out of nowhere in the most physical rush of excitement, and ideas came teeming into my head.

"I simply knew it was something I would love to write, but that day I was pen-less for once in my life, so as I sat there on the train, I had to rely on imagining the details, most of which ended up being in the books."

It took five years to write the first book, mostly in cafes around Edinburgh, where Rowling was living at the time.

After getting a literary agent, it then took a year to find a publisher, with many turning the book down.

Then in June 1997, Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

It was published in the US a year later, in August 1998, with a slightly different title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

It took another 10 years for the next six books to be written and published, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming out in 2007.

The first film was released in 2001, and the last, the eighth, in 2011.

The books have been translated into more than 80 languages including Latin, Hebrew and Welsh, and recorded as audiobooks in nearly as many.

Three short companion books followed: Hogwarts Library, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

A stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, came out in 2016, as did the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

A sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018, and a third is planned for 2022.

As well as books, films and plays, there are Harry Potter experiences, rides and a lot (we mean a lot) of memorabilia available to buy, with Harry Potter shops found across the UK.

The first film

We won't go into too much detail about the premise of the film, because if you're reading this, you're probably already a fan.

But in case you're new to the world of Potter, the Philosopher's Stone introduces us to 11-year-old Harry Potter, an orphan who lives with his snobby aunt and uncle and spoilt cousin.

He soon learns that he is a wizard, and is invited to join Hogwarts where he meets best friends Ron and Hermione and learns the truth about his dark past – that a ruthless wizard named Voldemort murdered his parents as part of his attempt to come to power.

Harry, Ron and Hermione discover that the Philosopher's Stone, an object that has the power to produce a potion that grants immortality, is being hidden at Hogwarts, and suspect their potions master, Professor Snape, is trying to obtain it to bring Voldemort back.

The brave trio hatch a plan to source the stone themselves and save it from getting into the wrong hands.

Daniel Radcliffe played Harry, Rupert Grint played Ron and Emma Watson played Hermione.

The three stars have gone on to make millions and have played the lead roles in many more successful films, with Watson as Belle in a live action remake of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Ratcliffe starring in Horns, The Woman in Black and Jungle.

But they are best known for their roles in the Harry Potter franchise.

The film also starred John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Tom Felton, Ian Hart, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

It had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on November 4, 2001 – exactly 20 years ago today.

The film had previews in the UK on 1,137 screens at 491 cinemas on November 10 and 11.

It officially opened on November 16 on 1,168 screens at 507 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, plus thousands more across the world.

It was the widest release of all-time in the UK and the US.

Our photos show children – and their parents – in cinema foyers across the county for their first glimpse of 'real life' Harry in November 2001.

We've even dug out ticket stubs from the former ABC in Canterbury, where it cost £3.80 to see the movie.

But it all added up – during its initial run, the first film earned $974 million at the worldwide box office, which made it the second-highest-grossing film in history at the time, as well as the year's highest-grossing film.

It is the second-highest-grossing Harry Potter film after Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

The subsequent films came out in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and delighted audiences all over again.

Leave your memories of seeing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the first time, or of your love for Harry Potter, below.

Read about Harry Potter's links to Kent here

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