Love Actually's Richard Curtis has only seen movie twice in 20 years after 'ghastly' experience

Richard Curtis opens up astir his caller Christmas movie successful an exclusive chat - and reveals that he's lone seen Love Actually doubly since it arrived successful cinemas 20 years ago

The words of Richard Curtis person go a Christmas Day staple for galore homes implicit the past 2 decades acknowledgment to his 2003 festive flick Love Actually. Now, screenwriter Richard is backmost with different Yuletide offering that’s based connected his ain trilogy of children’s books. Netflix’s caller animation That Christmas follows the families of fictional municipality Wellington-on-Sea arsenic they observe the vacation – and we spot however a mistake by Father Christmas kicks disconnected a bid of unfortunate mishaps.

However, Richard admits that dissimilar the remainder of the country, helium doesn't ticker Love Actually annually - and has seen it conscionable doubly since it premiered successful cinemas. “One clip was ghastly - my woman told maine determination was a sing-along mentation happening successful an American cinema. All of america and the kids went on and it conscionable wasn’t,” helium says.

“There were six different radical successful the cinema - 2 of them were determination for warmth, 2 of them were determination for sex. They said it was going to beryllium similar Rocky Horror! The 2nd clip was with a unrecorded orchestra astatine Drury Lane and that was wonderful. I made a code beforehand and said that my mother-in-law and girl made cameos successful the movie and had ne'er received applause. Surreally, 1,500 radical each cheered erstwhile they came connected screen. It was a precise saccharine moment.”

For his caller film, Richard, 68, drew connected his ain household traditions erstwhile penning the film, peculiarly 1 country successful which the town’s residents clasp the acold for a chilly Christmas Day swim. “We’ve celebrated Christmas successful Suffolk for the past 25 years,” says Richard, who is dada to Scarlett, 29, Jake, 27, Charlie, 23, and 20-year-old Spike with woman Emma Freud.

“In our village, Christmas Day ends with a swim. I cognize Simon [Otto, the director] was peculiarly keen connected the oddity of a Christmas movie acceptable astatine the seaside, truthful I wanted that geography and besides to constitute a movie astir kids. I’ve been a dada for 29 years – it’s the astir absorbing taxable successful the world to me.”

The movie weaves unneurotic respective stories – from duplicate girls Sam and Charlie Beccles being mixed up by Father Christmas to a radical of parents who are stranded successful a blizzard connected their mode backmost from a wedding. This leaves teenage Bernie successful complaint of Christmas Day arsenic good arsenic younger kids Nisha, Eve, Teddy and Scarlett.

“A batch of it is based connected worldly successful our lives,” Richard adds. “We person a communal Christmas luncheon with friends, we don’t divided up into our houses. We each get together. My member has duplicate girls. And, of course, Santa is simply a close, idiosyncratic friend.”

The writer drafted successful a apical formed for the movie – including Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker, who voices Mrs Williams, and Succession’s Brian Cox, who plays Santa Claus. “We wanted Santa to beryllium from the North, arsenic if helium were from Scotland, and truthful we had the thought of casting Brian,” Richard says. “And Jodie is specified a wonderful, susceptible actor.”

Killing Eve’s Fiona Shaw plays Ms Trapper – the section teacher who spends Christmas by herself. “She’s initially severe, but she has a precise brushed underbelly,” Fiona says. “She’s rather observant and lonely but keeps an oculus connected everybody.

“The constituent of the movie is that isolation is not bully and radical should beryllium successful a assemblage – and the events of the movie marque radical travel unneurotic astatine the extremity and, by helping with a problem, their not-so-great Christmases crook into a precise bully one. I deliberation that’s astir apt the communicative of galore people’s Christmases.”

In That Christmas, Bernie rails against classical festive traditions – which Richard tin subordinate to. “My kids hatred the walk, they hatred the sprouts,” helium says. “We person a contented successful our household wherever we bash a Christmas X Factor aft luncheon – the dads bash a opus and the mums bash a song.”

Fiona’s Christmas is conscionable arsenic musical. “My parent plays the soft and my member plays the treble bass truthful we sing the full time,” she says. In the film, viewers volition spot a notation to Love Actually – erstwhile Bernie talks astir the “old” Christmas film. Richard says, “They sprung that connected me, by the way. I thought it was a notation to Miracle On 34th Street – grainy worldly with American men successful bow ties. But erstwhile I watched it, they’d enactment successful Love Actually and I thought, ‘I merit that.’”

Director Simon adds, “It was a large infinitesimal erstwhile we showed that series to Richard – I studied his look truthful closely! Something we some person to judge is that immoderate movies we worked connected are precise aged films to kids today.”

That Christmas is disposable to watercourse connected December 4 connected Netflix.