Harry Potter and the Cursed Child had its first preview performance on Tuesday and it's been getting rave reviews , but one famous face WON'T be attending.

Daniel Radcliffe - who starred as the boy wizard in the eight big screen adaptations of J.K. Rowling's magical saga - has ruled out sitting in the audience to watch the highly anticipated sequel.

However, the actor has given a pretty good explanation, admitting he's worried his presence would overshadow the action on stage.

(Image: FameFlynet.UK.com)

He told E! News: "It would be a weird one. I could be completely wrong in this, but I feel like if I went to see it that night, there’s going to be a lot of Harry Potter fans there in the audience obviously and would that then become a thing?

Read more:Behind the scenes video reveals secrets of the play

"Would it be more about them watching me watch the show or would it take away from the show?"

(Image: Twitter/HPPlayLDN)

It comes after Rowling urged fans this week to #KeepTheSecrets for the new show .

"You've been amazing for years at keeping Harry Potter's secrets so you didn't spoil the books for readers who came after you," said the 50-year-old in a short video.

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"So I'm asking you one more time to keep the secrets and let audiences enjoy Cursed Child with all the surprises that we've built into the story."

Alongside the video, the author added: "Potter fans have always had each other's backs. Today I'm asking you to #KeepTheSecrets of #CursedChild".