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Twenty years ago rom-com writer Richard Curtis brought out a Christmas film that went on to become a staple part of festive watching for many.

Love Actually didn’t necessarily win over critics but it was a hit with audiences and is a regular fixture on the best Christmas film lists.

Now Curtis has returned to the genre to write a re-make of his 1991 TV movie Bernard And The Genie – but says he has no plans to remake the other festive film he’s known for.

Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually Pic: Peter Mountain/Universal/Dna/Working Title/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually Pic: Peter Mountain/Universal/Dna/Working Title/Kobal/Shutterstock

“No, I’ve thought about whether I ever want to do a multi [story film] – I love movies with lots and lots of characters in it,” the writer told Sky News’ Backstage podcast.

“But I think I’d be pretty sure to make sure it wasn’t set at Christmas this time.

“I think I’ve probably done my Christmas multi-stories story.”

Richard Curtis arrives for a gala screening of Genie at Ham Yard Hotel, Soho, London. Picture date: Sunday November 26, 2023.
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Richard Curtis at a gala screening of Genie in London

His new film Genie is a comedy about Bernard – a man struggling professionally and personally who tries to make changes to his life with the help of a magical being.

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It draws on the work it’s based on, but brings it up to date, and sees it set in a new location, and with one female lead rather than two men.

He says it was soon after 1991’s Bernard And The Genie came out that he thought about re-writing it.

“Funnily enough, I actually wrote my sort of first draft of this about five years after the original film, and then I let it lie,” he said.

A fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas.
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Genie is fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas

“And I just thought I would love to do another Christmas movie, and so I took it out and refreshed it in many ways, particularly having a female Genie and moving it to New York.

“But it’s been in my head for a long time and I always think the best projects are the ones that have had time to stew.

Updating work for modern audiences isn’t unusual – Roald Dahl‘s books have seen changes made to them to reflect contemporary attitudes and Genie is by no means the only film being given a modern twist.

Curtis says it makes sense that work is refreshed as audiences evolve.

“I think in many areas tastes have changed and we’re more aware of things that we should say – we should talk about climate change all the time if we possibly can – and things that, you know, it’s no longer right or polite in any way to say,” he explained.

Sky Original, Genie, available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from 1 December.
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Sky Original, Genie, is available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from 1 December

“So as I write, I’ve always got my 20-year-old daughter on my shoulder saying ‘Dad are you sure?'”

He says that updating the Genie to be a woman in his new film gave a new perspective to the character who is trying to help Bernard with his marital issues.

“My original version – like when I first wrote a script of this – had the Genie as a man again,” Curtis admitted.

Sky Original, Genie, available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from 1 December.
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Sky Original, Genie, is available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from 1 December

“And so just to be able to come back to it and have to look at every line and say, ‘Is this the right one? Is this the right attitude? What would she know?’

“And I particularly love the fact that she’s trying to fix a marriage and she’s a woman who probably knows more about how Bernard’s wife feels than Bernard does.”

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While Curtis may not have plans to update Love Actually, he perhaps hasn’t ruled out setting something during another holiday – joking that he could have some fun with Halloween.

“The happy version of Halloween or just killing off most of the cast?” he queried.

“I’d like to kill off Hugh Grant in one of my films – that would be a real joy.”

Love Actually
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Love Actually

Genie is out on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW. For more on the film listen to the latest episode of Backstage, the film and TV podcast from Sky News.

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Paul Gallagher, older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, is charged with offences including rape

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Paul Gallagher, older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, is charged with offences including rape

Paul Gallagher, the older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, has been charged with multiple offences including rape.

The Metropolitan Police said Gallagher, 59, of East Finchley, north London, has been charged with rape, coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of making a threat to kill and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The offences are reported to have taken place between 2022 and 2024. The charges follow an investigation which began last year, the force added in a statement.

A woman is being supported by specially-trained officers, the statement continued.

Paul Gallagher, who is about one year older than Noel and seven years older than Liam, has never been involved in Oasis.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 August.

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Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

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Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.

Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.

In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.

“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”

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BBC reputation damaged by ‘serious errors’

MasterChef co-host John Torode also had an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term” upheld, as part of the same investigation.

Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.

Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.

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“There is no way that man is a ­racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”

Former MasterChef presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace. File pic: PA
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Gregg Wallace has defended his former MasterChef co-host John Torode (left). File pic: PA

At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.

“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”

In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.

“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.

He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.

Read more from Sky News:
Actor Micheal Ward charged with rape
Jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine dies
BBC reveals highest-earning stars

On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.

“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”

Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”

On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.

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Company at heart of Coldplay viral video releases tongue-in-cheek clip – with a big twist

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Company at heart of Coldplay viral video releases tongue-in-cheek clip - with a big twist

The company at the centre of a viral video at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media – featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson”.

Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight after two of the tech firm’s senior executives were filmed embracing on a kiss cam during a gig in Boston.

Andy Byron subsequently resigned as chief executive officer – while the woman in the video, Kristin Cabot, stepped down as chief people officer a few days later.

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Tech boss resigns after viral Coldplay concert video

Paltrow, who used to be married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, is seen sitting at a desk in the new video uploaded to X – and begins by thanking the public for their interest in Astronomer.

She adds: “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.

“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days – and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”

A question is then typed out on the screen that reads: “OMG, what the actual…”

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Before the final word appears, the video cuts back to Paltrow, who goes on to promote some of the services Astronomer offers.

In a subtle nod to the countless column inches the company has attracted, Paltrow adds: “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”

Another question then pops up on screen, which begins to type out: “How is your social media team holding up?”

But before the sentence fully appears, Paltrow abruptly interrupts by declaring that Astronomer has spaces at an upcoming conference in September.

Astronomer

“We’ll now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” she adds at the end of the video.

The marketing stunt is a sign that Astronomer is trying to put a positive spin on the scandal, which sparked feverish speculation online.

After Mr Byron resigned, the company had said in a statement: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

Woman hides her face

Pete DeJoy, who has taken over as interim CEO, admitted on Monday that the company has faced an “unusual and surreal” amount of attention in recent days.

On LinkedIn, he wrote: “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.”

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