Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson are back together for Waitrose’s Christmas advert, but the festive couple’s unlikely romance is facing its biggest test yet. In The Perfect Gift 2, a six-minute festive rom-com, Joe and Keira’s love story takes a dramatic turn after their on-screen romance began in last year’s campaign.
This time, Rivals star Alex Hassell joins the picture as Hugo Bunty-Griffin, a dashing groom-to-be who is set to marry Keira at three o’clock. Phil, played by Joe, isn’t about to give up without a fight.
A Love Triangle at the Altar
The story picks up after last year’s advert, when Keira and Phil first found a spark over the Waitrose cheese counter. While Keira appears to have found her perfect match in Hugo, it soon becomes clear that the groom’s real rival is himself.
‘I play Hugo, a man in love… but really only with himself!’ Alex says. ‘And the idea of being a part of a celebrity power couple. I loved The Perfect Gift last year, so it was an honour to join the cast for another episode in the story, and all the gorgeous, silliness that went with it.’
Phil’s Quest to Win Keira Back
Nursing a broken heart at home and sporting an enormous beard, Phil is spending his days in a dressing gown, watching TV as This Morning’s Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond celebrate Keira’s upcoming nuptials. After encouragement from his friends, Phil becomes determined to win Keira back, making the beef Wellington of his life before dashing to stop the wedding.
It’s not exactly a smooth journey, as Phil has to deal with a flat tyre, a dog with a nose for food, and a country house full of seemingly endless corridors and stairs. But Phil eventually makes it to the ceremony, bursting in before his carefully prepared Wellington slides down the aisle to Keira’s feet. He follows it up with a final romantic gesture: a jar of homemade sauce bearing the message ‘Marry Me Instead?’
A Happy Ending and a Longer Advert
Despite Keira being left speechless, viewers are given a happy ending, with the Love Actually star swapping the wedding aisle for Phil’s house, running through the Waitrose aisles in her elegant gown. In heartwarming fashion, Keira eventually gets down on one knee with a cheeseboard ring and asks Phil to marry her.
Directed once again by Molly Manners, Jennifer Rush’s The Power of Love brings this festive love story full circle as Keira and Phil share a passionate kiss in the kitchen. Keira said: ‘I absolutely loved the chance to revisit our relationship this Christmas, although I wasn’t expecting to find myself caught between two men and a beef Wellington!’
Wilkinson also added: ‘If a beef Wellington doesn’t win back the heart of a Hollywood A-lister, nowt will.’
Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell said the sequel was created after customers wanted to know what happened next. He revealed that the retailer made the film two minutes longer than last year’s advert, making it a six-minute production, which Waitrose describes as the longest advert produced by a UK supermarket. The full film is available online.
