Fourteen years on from the release of the original Love Actually, plans have been announced for a follow-up featuring many of the film’s biggest stars.
Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson are all signed on to appear in the sequel, which will be shown on March 24 on BBC One as part of the annual Red Nose Day charity appeal.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Sam), Lucia Moniz (Aurelia), Olivia Olson (Joanna) and Marcus Brigstocke (Mikey) are also set to return.
The 10-minute sequel will reportedly focus on what the original characters are doing now in the present day. Richard Curtis – the director and writer behind the 2003 film – is also taking the reins for this sequel.
The New Zealand-born British director has previously helped create Red Nose Day specials for television series he was involved in, such as Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr Bean. This time around, he told The Mirror he thought it would be “a fun idea” to create a sketch based on one of his films.
“I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel to Love Actually, but I thought it might be fun to do ten minutes to see what everyone is now up to.
Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in character as lovestruck David and Natalie.
“We’ve been delighted and grateful that so many of the cast are around and able to take part – and it’ll certainly be a nostalgic moment getting back together and recreating their characters 14 years later,” he told the publication.
“We hope to make something that’ll be fun – very much in the spirit of the original film and of Red Nose Day – and which we hope will help bring lots of viewers and cash to the Red Nose Day shows.”
Richard’s partner and fellow Love Actually screenwriter Emma Freud has already put out a call for story ideas on Twitter, revealing the script is still being written. Unsurprisingly, many fans have jumped in with their own suggestions for where they’d like to see the original characters now, with some also calling for a tribute to late actor Alan Rickman.
