It's been 14 years since Love Actually, one of the most successful and popular romantic comedies of recent years, was released. It has popped up on our screens every Christmas without failure, but now we have been gifted with a small sequel in support of Red Nose Day. The sequel, which aired on BBC One, helped to to raise over £71 million for Comic Relief and gave us a blast from the past from the 2003 film.
Director Richard Curtis returned to direct the small sequel which, although being around 10 minutes long, has allowed us to see how the characters, that we grew to love all those years back, have changed.
Big absences
However, it has not gone unnoticed that there were a number of important absentees from the short sequel. It was revealed beforehand that Emma Thompson would not appear, owing to the sad death of Alan Rickman, a close friend who played her husband in the original film. There were also a number of other characters left out. The likes of Laura Linney and Heike Makatsch do not appear, and neither does Kris Marshall who played Colin, the man on a mission to find love who ended up moving to America. Colin's character was left out because director Curtis didn't have the time or the budget to see where the character is now.
There have been some happy endings which appear in the sequel, so without further ado, here is what's happened to a handful of our favourite characters from 'Love Actually' 14 years on.
1 Billy is pretty much the same
The singer who 14 years ago smashed the Christmas charts with his special version of 'Love Is All Around' is still doing the same old stuff, as he continues to change the odd few words from popular songs hoping that it somehow works. Bill Nighy's character really hasn't changed that much, as he is back presenting on Radio Watford. However he has found time to release an autobiography.
2 Joe has passed away
We don't actually see Joe in the sequel, however we find out that he has unfortunately died of a heart attack after Billy announces it on the radio. Thankfully, actor Gregor Fisher, who plays Joe, has not passed away in real life as he is set to feature in a film which is to be released later this year. This surprising turn of events in the story brings out the more sympathetic side of Billy who is clearly affected by the sad loss of his manager Joe.
3 Jamie and Aurelia have a family
One of the couples that finally get together at the end of the original film are still together to this day, and there are even a few additions. Jamie, played by the brilliant Colin Firth and Aurelia, played by Lúcia Moniz, have three children. We don't know if he is continuing to write, but one thing is for sure is that his Portuguese hasn't improved much.
4 Daniel with not much to report on
Daniel (Liam Neeson) is still sticking around in the same parts of London as he was 14 years ago. His son, Sam, has of course grown up, but is still in contact with him. However, there is no sign of Carol (Claudia Schiffer) who he had hoped to see again.
5 Sam and Joanna reconnect in the US and are together
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, the adorable drum playing youngster in the original, has grown up into his mid-twenties and now lives in New York. Whilst living there, funnily enough, he met up with his childhood crush Joanna and they are now together as a couple. They both return to London so Joanna, played by Olivia Olson, can ask Daniel for his permission for her to propose to Sam.
6 Mark is married
Mark is one of the characters at the end of the original film that doesn't actually end up finding love. But, good this come to those who wait, and we now know he has finally found love! He hasn't changed in the respect that he still likes to stroll down the street with his cards under his arm, but the most important thing is that the character played by Andrew Lincoln has only gone and married Kate Moss, which he communicated perfectly to Juliet through those famous cards of his.
7 Juliet and Peter are still together
We don't know too much about the married couple as they only had a brief stint in the sequel, however all seems well between Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejifor) as we see them together relaxing in front of the TV. We don't see any kids around or even a pet, so we will be left guessing as to what their future holds.
8 David is still dancing away at 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister, played by none other than Hugh Grant, is still in charge at Number 10. Despite being in charge 14 years on, he is still dancing around this time to the likes of Drake and his song 'Hotline Bling', as well as giving memorable speeches to the country.
9 Natalie is married to the Prime Minister
Natalie has returned to Downing Street but this time she is the spouse to the Prime Minister. Natalie, played by Martine McCutcheon, only appears briefly together with her husband in the sequel where we can see them taking selfies with journalists during a press conference. From what we gathered there weren't any kids crawling round Number 10, as of yet anyway.
10 Rufus is still wrapping presents
It was a pleasant surprise to see Rowan Atkinson's character, Rufus, making an appearance in the sequel. Despite not having a major role in the original, he left us all chuckling with his brilliant cameo as the jewellery assistant in Selfridges. In the sequel he no longer works there, although he is still wrapping present with the attention to detail as he did in that brilliant scene with Alan Rickman's character, Harry.