18 years on from first hitting the big screen, the iconic opening scene of Love Actually at Heathrow has been recreated for today’s times by the airport’s team.
The film’s script-supervisor Lisa Vick has modernised the monologue first voiced by Hugh Grant in the 2003 box office hit, whose words reminded people that love can be found everywhere. The new words reflect the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic and the emotion of reuniting with friends and family as the world slowly opens back up. The one-minute recreation is narrated by British actress Martine McCutcheon, who played Natalie in the original movie, the Prime Minister’s love interest.
This is the modernised monologue: “Any time I find myself worrying about what the future holds in these uncertain times, I think about the arrivals hall at Heathrow. We’ve been living in a difficult and isolated world for a while now, but as the world cautiously opens up, I see love and connection everywhere.
“It may not be perfectly framed or headline news, but it’s all around. Where possible, we are coming back together to give the warm hugs that we’ve all been missing – parents, children, old friends and new additions – to build memories and share adventures once again.
“When the world went into lockdown, all I heard were stories of people desperate to stay connected in any way they knew how. People surviving through the worst by supporting one another. If you look for it, whatever life throws at us, you’ll find that love, really is all around.”
The scene has been reshot at Heathrow Terminal 3, the same location it was filmed in almost two decades ago. It features footage of real-life passengers emerging in Arrivals and reuniting with loved ones in time for Christmas, after months and even years of being apart.
The festive film launches as Heathrow expects to face a busy Christmas despite demand being suppressed by the ongoing impact of Covid-19. Research commissioned by Heathrow earlier this year found that 62% of people haven’t seen a loved one in over a year, with 40% of people in the UK having loved ones who live abroad.
Following the easing of travel restrictions, Heathrow has seen increases in people booking flights this winter as travellers set their sights on flying home for Christmas. Additional data from Heathrow reveals the weekend of 17/18/19th December are set to be the most popular days to travel during the Christmas period, with Dubai, New York and Dublin the most popular destinations.
