Hugh Grant has noticed a highly ironic omission in the election campaign advert put out by the Conservatives that not only spoofs a film he starred in but which itself is ripped off a Remainer Labour MP.
"One of the cards... Boris Johnson didn't hold up was the one saying "Because at Christmas you tell the truth"
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) December 10, 2019
Actor Hugh Grant @HackedOffHugh, who wants people to vote tactically against Brexit, gives his view of the PM's version of the famous Love Actually cards scene pic.twitter.com/HyU9Uk47Sd
The Love, Actually actor – who is currently campaigning to get people to vote tactically in order to secure a People’s Vote – offered his comment on Boris Johnson’s take on a famous scene from the Christmas hit.
The doorstep scene in Love, Actually shows a man, played by Andrew Lincoln, at the doorway of the woman he adores, holding up cards confessing his love for her. But in the Tory advert, it’s Johnson himself standing at the door with a stack of message cards for an unsuspecting voter – all begging for her vote.
An earlier version had been made by Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan and had been widely shared on Twitter.
I won't be retweeting it - but Boris Johnson has copied my #ElectionActually video.
— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) December 9, 2019
Tanks. On. The. Lawn.
Don't share his version in outrage - instead, share my original version.
It's us versus Cummings, Johnson, Trump and Farage - retweet this and spread the word! pic.twitter.com/vuC26bWlcy
Grant, who played the prime minister in the film, was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme what he thought about the Conservative ad, and had some choice words for Johnson’s effort.
“I thought it was quite well done. Very high production values, clearly the Conservative Party have an awful lot of money. Maybe that’s where all the roubles went.
“But also, I did notice one of the cards from the original film that he didn’t hold up was the one where Andrew Lincoln held up a card saying ‘because at Christmas you tell the truth.
“And I just wonder if the spin doctors in the Tory party thought that was a card that wouldn’t look too great in Boris Johnson’s hands.”
Dr Allin-Khan tweeted: “Boris Johnson has copied my #ElectionActually video. Tanks. On. The. Lawn.”
She invited people to share her version instead, which she retweeted with the simple message: “Remain, actually.”
She also responded to the prime minister with another tweet saying: “If you want to copy any more of our ideas, here’s the Labour manifesto.”
Most popular
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: Disappointing Greta Thunberg and a night out with the Kinnocks
Mandrake: Facing the fury of Nadine Dorries
