Harry Potter actress Frances de la Tour once remarked how ‘odd’ she found Richard Curtis’s decision to drop her lesbian love story from Love Actually.
Can it ever really be a ‘happy holiday’ without an annual rewatch of Love Actually?
For many, the 2003 festive masterpiece, starring an ensemble cast, is a Big Day staple, and best enjoyed while diving into a bowl of individually wrapped sweet treats.
Set in the run-up towards Christmas, Love Actually documents ten separate stories focusing on varying aspects of love.
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Of course, there’s the love triangle between Juliet, Peter, and Mark (played by Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Andrew Lincoln, respectively), Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant) and his infatuation with staff member Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), and professional stand-ins John and Judy (Martin Freeman and Joanna Page).
All the stories are interlinked in some way, making Love Actually both smart and extremely ambitious.
Despite remaining a festive staple, the film has drawn criticism over the years for its lack of diversity and LBGTQ+ exclusion.
During last year’s 20th anniversary celebrations, Richard, 68, himself admitted: “My film is bound in some moments to feel out of date.
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“The lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid.”
Another actor who has recently spoken out about the merry moment is actress Frances de la Tour, 80.
It’s understood her plot in Love Actually was supposed to focus on an older lesbian couple who were somehow connected to Karen (Emma Thompson) and her brood.
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The Tony Award winner was supposed to play Geraldine, the terminally ill partner of 89-year-old Anne Reid’s unnamed character.
However, their ‘lovely’ scenes were left on the cutting room floor by Richard.
In an interview with The Independent earlier this year, the Enola Homes favourite commented: “It’s odd that they cut it.
“I think it was the only gay scene. Maybe it was too dark to bring into it,” she lamented.
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It’s understood Frances and Anne were supposed to argue over sausages before cuddling up together at night, as per the publication.
It would later be revealed that Geraldine died before the bells tolled for Yuletide.
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“Because it ended up being quite a light and fluffy film, didn’t it? At least [Richard] wrote to me and said, ‘We’re terribly sorry but it’s got to be cut.’”
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The Love Actually director himself claimed he was ‘really sorry to lose’ the lesbian love story, claiming so in the DVD’s bonus footage, as per the publication.
“The idea was meant to be that you just casually meet this very stern headmistress, but later on in the film we suddenly fell in with her and you realise that, no matter how unlikely it seems, any character you come across in life has their own complicated tale of love,” he enthused.
You can stream Love Actually on NOW TV. Happy holidays, indeed!
Topics: Celebrity, Christmas, Entertainment, TV And Film, LGBTQ+
Ella Scott