Richard Curtis' reason for writing the film

Screenwriter Richard Curtis penned the script partly to explain to his mother why he wasn't married.

He said at the time: "Thinking about it, I might pop the question soon."

He eventually did pop the question to his long-term partner Emma Freud but the couple only married in September 2023.

She had previously asked for his hand in marriage twice, but he allegedly declined the first time and slept through the second proposal.