It's taken a few months, but Comic Relief's Love Actually sequel is finally online so you can watch it in all its glory.

Fourteen years after Love Actually won our hearts with stories of kindness, compassion and acceptance, Comic Relief brought us Red Nose Day Actually in the UK in March to prove that love really is all around.

Our friends across the pond are a bit late to the party and only got Red Nose Day on Thursday (May 25), but now a brand new cut of the film – featuring a never-before-seen bit with Laura Linney has arrived and you can finally enjoy it below:

preview for Comic Relief's Love Actually sequel: Red Nose Day Actually

The Red Nose Day short brings us up to date with some of our favourites from Richard Curtis's comedy classic, resolving some major cliffhangers we've been turning over in our minds for over a decade.

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Universal

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BBC

We'll get the saddest bit out of the way first, a classic character did indeed die in Red Nose Day Actually. It turns out that rock god Billy Mack's (Bill Nighy) loveable and long-suffering manager Joe (Gregor Fisher) tragically passed away in the 14 years that have gone by (rest easy, Rab C Nesbitt fans – Fisher is still alive and well IRL).

"[He was a] big man with a big heart. Big heart attack. A big coffin. It's a big hole in my life," Billy Mack whispers during a radio interview echoing the opening of the classic movie.

Can you believe Joe went out like that? Luckily, it wasn't all gloomy – remember when Mark (Andrew Lincoln) tried to win the heart of his best mate Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) wife Juliet (Keira Knightley) with those romantic cards?

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Comic Relief//BBC

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BBC

Mark's definitely moved on, and made good on his promise to land Kate Moss as his wife if Juliet turned him down. Not even his Walking Dead beard stopped Kate Moss from planting a big kiss on her man.

Then there are those two adorable kids Sam (Thomas Sangster) and Joanna (Olivia Olson). They came back to the UK from America for one very special reason – to ask Sam's stepdad Daniel (Liam Neeson) to turn up to their wedding! Oh the feels!

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Comic Relief//BBC

As for Jamie (Colin Firth) and his wife Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz), she's definitely conquered the English language. Jamie's still struggling with understanding his spouse's native Portuguese with a fourth baby on the way...but they both still look incredible.

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Last we left Laura Linney's Sarah, she'd passed up a romance hot co-worker Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) because she felt a responsibility to spend her time caring for her developmentally-disabled brother.

Life is much happier for Sarah these days. Yes, she's still a workaholic, but now she has a young child and is married to... Dr McDreamy himself Patrick Dempsey!

But the best was saved for last when the prime minister (Hugh Grant) returned to Downing Street after five years away to boogie to Drake's 'Hotline Bling' – before inspiring us with yet another empowering press conference.

"Wherever you see tragedy, you see bravery too – wherever you see ordinary people in need, you see extraordinary ordinary people come to their aid," the PM said.

"Today is Red Nose Day and people are giving their hard-earned cash to people they'll never meet. But whose pain and fear they feel and want to fight. So, it's not only romantic love that's all around .

"Most people still, every day, everywhere, have enough love in their heart to help other human beings in trouble. Good's going to win. I'm actually sure of it."

Thanks Hugh. We needed that after the events of this past week.

Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in Red Nose Day Actuallypinterest
BBC / Comic Relief

In the spirit of Comic Relief, the cast flew into the UK from all around the globe to film their bits. For example, Andrew Lincoln took a break from icing zombies on The Walking Dead set in Atlanta to bring back his beloved message-cards.

"It's very exciting. It's a very cool thing," he said of the fundraising film when it was first announced.

It seems as if Red Nose Day Actually will be the final farewell to these characters we love so much, since director Richard Curtis recently downplayed the likelihood of a full-length sequel ever happening.

"I've always been sure I wouldn't do a sequel – but I had sometimes thought it would have been fun to see what some of the characters were up to," he explained.

"Fifteen years later you can be pretty sure that Bill Nighy's Billy Mack would still be releasing dodgy records."

And so he was! Thanks for proving once again that what the world needs now is… love.

To donate to Comic Relief, visit bbc.co.uk/rednoseday in the UK or rednoseday.org/donate-splash in the US. You can phone 03457 910910. To donate £10 via text, text 'YES' to 70210, or to donate £20 text 'YES' to 70220.


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Justin Harp

Night News Editor

Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US. 

He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016. 

Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.