THIS IS CHRISTMAS ACTUALLY

Love Actually writer and director Richard Curtis gifts the world a new festive film this year

The words of Richard Curtis have become a Christmas Day staple for many households over the last 20 years thanks to his festive flick Love Actually.

Now, the screenwriter is back with another Yuletide offering – and he’s taken inspiration from his own family’s celebrations.

Based on Richard’s children’s books, Netflix’s animation That Christmas follows the families of fictional town Wellington-on-Sea as they celebrate the holiday – and how a mistake from Father Christmas kicks off a series of unfortunate mishaps.

Richard drew on his own traditions when writing the film, particularly one scene in which the town’s residents embrace the cold for a Christmas Day swim.

“We’ve celebrated Christmas in Suffolk for the last 25 years,” says Richard, who shares Scarlett, 29, Jake, 27, Charlie, 23, and 20-year-old Spike with wife Emma Freud.

“In our village, Christmas Day ends with a swim. I know Simon [Otto, the director] was particularly keen on the oddity of a Christmas film set at the seaside, so I wanted that geography and also to write a film about kids. I’ve been a dad for 29 years – it’s the most interesting subject in the world to me.”

The film weaves together many different stories – from twin girls Sam and Charlie Beccles being mixed up by Father Christmas to a group of parents who are stranded in a blizzard on their way back from a wedding. This leaves teenage Bernie in charge of Christmas Day as well as younger kids Nisha, Eve, Teddy and Scarlett.