Love Actually: 20 Things We Learned From The Comic Relief Sequel

Love (still) actually is all around

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster

by Katie Rosseinsky |
Published on

When news broke that the cast of Love Actually were teaming up for a short sequel in aid of Comic Relief, our immediate response was to celebrate in the style of Hugh Grant's Prime Minister: through the medium of dance.

Given that Love Actually is, for want of a better phrase, so well-loved, expectations were high, and while a 10 minute sequel couldn't cram in a follow-up to every storyline from the 2003 film, it did give us a glimpse at our favourite characters, and was by turns hilarious and suprisingly poignant. 13 years on, lots has changed (but many things have stayed the same, too...)

1. The intro music from 'God Only Knows' still makes us want to tear up

Confusingly, it's March. We shouldn't be feeling this festive.

2. Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Peter and Juliet are still together - and living in Instagram-friendy bliss

Aspirational London flat? Check. Bella Freud slogan knit? Check. Perfect lighting? Check. A bearded Andrew Lincoln asking Juliet to 'tell him it's carol singers'? Just you wait...

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Red Nose Day Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

3. Mark has an iPod and speakers now, not a portable stereo

Which still feels weirdly retro, no?

4. Don't worry, he's not here to break-up his friends. He's married to Kate Moss now (and she's got some signs too)

Looks like Mark made good on his vow to marry a supermodel - though it seems that neither Mossy, Chiwetel nor Keira is a fan of the beard. Sadly, it's probably written into Andrew's Walking Dead contract by now.

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Red Nose Day Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

5. Hugh Grant's David is back in Number 10 after five years away

Is it just us, or does the Prime Minister's room look a little like a regional hotel?

6. He's swapped 'Jump' for Drake's 'Hotline Bling'

And he still dances round Downing Street like your dad at a wedding. Never change.

7. He just can't traverse those stairs like he used too, though

So now we know why Hugh was wearing his arm in a sling in promo photos. One missed step means a nasty fall down the stairs.

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Red Nose Day Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

8. Hugh Grant reading Drake lyrics totally deadpan should be a podcast

'I know when that hotline bling, it can only mean one thing'

9. Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is still around to save the day with a cup of tea

Still wearing her signature red jumpers, too.

10. Billy Mack is still doing the rounds on local radio, with a new terrible cover version to promote in the name of charity

His maximalist look also feels very on trend for S/S'17.

11. Billy's manager is no longer with us

Honestly, Bill Nighy is pretty much the only person who could make this script (off-colour Kardashian references and all) work.

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Red Nose Day Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

12. Rowan Atkinson's shop assistant appears to have fallen on hard times post credit crunch

To paraphrase Drake (in keeping with tonight's theme), 'started in a fancy London department store, now we're... in a regional branch of Sainsbury's.'

13. His wrapping techniques are still unreasonably detail-orientated

Cinnamon stick?

14. Colin Firth still can't speak Portuguese very well

It's been thirteen years, Colin. Aurelia, meanwhile, is obviously great at English.

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Red Nose Day Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

15. He's also still wearing knitwear: a grey turtleneck, to be precise

What a treat for the fans.

16. Jamie and Aurelia have enough rowdy children to fill a family-sized car

And another on the way (not that Jamie knows yet...)

17. Liam Neeson's Daniel is still great at sitting on benches and looking pensively across the water

And Thomas Brodie-Sangster's Sam is still pondering love. Warning: this will make you feel emotional.

love actually comic relief liam neeson thomas brodie sangster
Liam Neeson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster film Love Actually Comic Relief ©Getty Images

18. Little Sam is now 26. 2-6

Not '14 or 15' as his on-screen dad jokes. These two, hey?

19. Joanna is back from New York- and asking for permission to marry Sam

Hooray for subverting patriarchal traditions! (Daniel says he'll 'think about it')

hugh grant red nose day love actually
Hugh Grant in Red Nose Day Actually ©BBC Pictures

20. Hugh Grant's Prime Minister can still tug on our heart-strings with an emotive speech - and one that felt inadvertently poignant

'Wherever you see tragedy, you see bravery, too. Wherever you see ordinary people in need, you see extraordinary ordinary people come to their aid.'

You can catch up on Red Nose Day Actually on BBC iPlayer

READ MORE: 36 Things You Definitely Didn't Know About Love Actually

READ MORE: Love Actually: Then And Now

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