'Love Actually' actor opens up about lesbian scene being cut from movie: "It was too..."
Love Actually, a Christmas favorite since its release in 2003, is known for its interwoven tales of love and heartbreak. However, one poignant storyline never made it to the screen— an older lesbian couple’s tale of love, loss, and resilience. A while ago, actress Frances de la Tour, who was supposed to star in the movie, shared her thoughts on the ‘odd’ decision to have her story cut from the film, leaving many fans wondering about what could have been. The deleted subplot featured Frances de la Tour as Geraldine, a terminally ill woman in a tender relationship with her partner, portrayed by Anne Reid.
As per Mirror, their story was linked to the larger narrative through Emma Thompson’s character, Karen, whose son was a pupil at the school where Reid’s character worked as a headmistress. The deleted scene featured the couple drinking merrily, filled with love and humor, even in the face of illness. One moment included a lighthearted argument over their preferences for fancy sausages, followed by a tender nighttime cuddle. Another, more somber scene, depicted Geraldine coughing violently in bed, hinting at her deteriorating health. The storyline was meant to culminate in a moving tribute during the school’s Christmas show, where Karen acknowledges the headmistress’s loss.
As per Tyla, Frances de la Tour, reflecting on the exclusion, remarked, “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 revealed that director Richard Curtis personally apologized. She said, “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.’” Curtis expressed his regret over the deletion of the lesbian storyline. In the film’s DVD bonus footage, he stated, “My film is bound in some moments to feel out of date…The lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid.”
Curtis added, “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 realize that, no matter how unlikely it seems, any character you come across in life has their own complicated tale of love.” He also admitted to struggling with the film’s editing process. "We thought Love Actually was a disaster for months while we were trying to edit it…I only thought of setting Love Actually at Christmas halfway through the writing process. I was thinking, 'How can I squeeze all these stories to end at the same time?'"
Balancing the film’s ten storylines within its runtime proved challenging, and the subplot about Geraldine and her partner was ultimately sacrificed. Despite the film’s enduring popularity, Love Actually has faced criticism over the years for its lack of diversity, including LGBTQ+ representation. The exclusion of the lesbian love story has only amplified these concerns.