Work outside Harry Potter

Watson's first non-Harry Potter role was in the 2007 TV film Ballet Shoes, as Pauline Fossil. She said of the project, "I was all set to go back to school after finishing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but couldn't resist Ballet Shoes. I really loved it". A BBC adaptation of Noel Streatfeild's novel of the same name, the film stars Watson as aspiring actress Pauline Fossil, the eldest of three sisters around whom the story revolves. Director Sandra Goldbacher commented, "Emma was perfect for Pauline ... She has a piercing, delicate aura that makes you want to gaze and gaze at her". Ballet Shoes was broadcast on Boxing Day in the United Kingdom, to an estimated audience of 5.2 million (22 percent of the viewing total). The film received generally poor critical reviews, and The Times described it as "progress[ing] with little emotional investment, or magic, or dramatic momentum". However, the performances of its cast were generally praised; The Daily Telegraph wrote the film "was certainly well done, not least because it confirmed how good child actors are these days".