Relief for Love Actually fans

It’s become somewhat of a cliché to liken things to Marmite, but the 2003 romcom Love Actually is fully deserving of the tag. Those that love it will feel like Christmas has come early, as a sequel is on its way and will be unleashed as part of this year’s Red Nose Day/Comic Relief campaign.

But it’s not all bad news for the haters, as Red Nose Day Actually is set to last a mere 10 minutes; a catch-up if you like, to see what those much-loved/loathed characters are up to nowadays. Anyway, it’s all in the name of charity.

Whatever your thoughts on the original (personally I don’t have any as I always end up falling sleep halfway through, but 10 minutes should be fine) there’s no denying that the cast was pretty special. Thankfully, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Andrew Lincoln, Martine McCutcheon and Rowan Atkinson will all be returning for the follow-up, although there’s no word as yet on whether Emma Thompson will be making an appearance. Chiwetel Ejiofor looks like he could also be an absentee from the reunion.

Writer and director Richard Curtis, who is also one of the founders of Comic Relief and Red Nose Day, said:”I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel to Love Actually, but I thought it might be fun to do 10 minutes to see what everyone is up to now.” He added: “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.”

Red Nose Day Actually will air on the big night, on BBC 1 on March 24, with NBC screening it across the Atlantic the next day. Are you looking forward to it? Let us know below.