Richard Curtis reveals he’s written Notting Hill 2 and admits Hugh Grant ‘avoided working’ with him on a new ‘Meet Cute’ project

Richard Curtis has revealed he’s written Notting Hill 2 and admitted Hugh Grant avoided working with him on a ‘Meet Cute’ project in a new interview. 

The screenwriter and film director, 66, said that he was going to be bring his iconic romcom back, in the name of charity, for a ten minute special. 

Speaking on brand-new TV reviews podcast Have You Seen?, with hosts Mariella Frostrup and Peter Fincham, Richard spoke of his ideas in aid of Comic Relief. 

He explained: ‘Recently I wrote… I was going to do it for Comic Relief… I wrote Notting Hill 2, which was going to be a 10-minute special set in the divorce lawyer’s office with Hugh and Julia splitting up, and then they both realised they loved each other again.’

The film, that stars Julia Roberts as American megastar Anna Scott and Hugh as floppy haired book seller William Thacker, became the highest grossing British film of all time on its release in 1999. 

Exciting: Richard Curtis (pictured in February), 66, has revealed he has written Notting Hill 2 and admitted Hugh Grant avoided working with him on a ‘Meet Cute’ project in a new interview

Project: The screenwriter and film director said that he will be bringing his iconic romcom back, in the name of charity, for a ten minute special (Hugh Grant pictured last month)

One day Anna happens to walk into William’s book store in London’s Notting Hill, he later bumps into her again on the street, spilling his orange juice all over her top.  

Despite the character striking up a romance after their meet cute scene, Richard admitted that Hugh was unwilling to work with him on a new script called Meet Cute, about a man whose name was Cute. 

He explained: ‘John Cute. Meet John Cute. Again, it was a thing for Comic Relief, I had this idea that I was going to write a sequence of 10 min films and I talked to Hugh Grant about it. 

‘Every episode was going to be a “meet Cute” where he met somebody, and then by the end of the episode, they were going to have split up, and then we’d have another “meet Cute”. 

‘And Hugh, who is, a man who’s 90% charity, everything about him is aiming to make the world a better place… and eventually, after consideration, he quoted me quite a large amount of money that he was going to give to Comic Relief not to do it. So it never happened!’ 

Earlier this year, Hugh Bonneville defended Notting Hill against critics who complained about its lack of multiculturalism, saying a scene showing the area’s diversity was cut.

The actor, 59, appeared in the film as a stockbroker who memorably told Julia’s A-list actress character that most actors only earn £8,000 a year.

The film came under fire from some who thought it didn’t portray the diversity of the area of London it’s set but Hugh has fired back, saying we should ‘allow art to be art.’

He explained: ‘I was going to do it for Comic Relief… I wrote Notting Hill 2, which was going to be a 10-minute special set in the divorce lawyer’s office with Hugh and Julia splitting up’ (Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts pictured as William Thacker and Anna Scott in the 1999 film)

He told The Independent: ‘There was a whole sequence about the multiculturalism of Notting Hill. But test audiences said, “Where’s the star? Where’s Julia Roberts?” So the producers cut out that three-minute multicultural sequence.’

Hugh insisted films shouldn’t be canceled just because modern audiences may not appreciate them in the same way as older viewers.

He said: ‘I think we all need to take a huge dose of perspective and allow art to be art. All forms of artistic expression should be allowed to breathe. 

‘I think respect should always be there – with expression comes responsibility. But I don’t think it’s right to say, “I don’t agree with you, therefore you should be cancelled”.’

Both Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts scored Golden Globe nominations for their performances as bookstore owner William Thacker and his famous girlfriend Anna.

Have You Seen? is available to listen to on all podcast platforms 

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