'Good is going to win': Love Actually sequel delivers poignant message

A star-studded cast that included the likes of Keira Knightley and Hugh Grant reprised their roles from the 2003 smash-hit over the weekend for a 15-minute comedy special to help raise money for Red Nose Day.

The short film opens with Keira Knightly and her on-screen husband Peter sitting on their couch. The doorbell rings and - surprise, surprise - it's a now-bearded Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln) rehashing the famous cue cards.

After an awkward exchange, we learn Knightley's character Juliet is still happily married. Mark, meanwhile, is somehow married to Kate Moss.

There are several laugh-out-loud moments as the audience learns what Love Actually's other characters are up to in 2017. Billy Mac, for example, is still as jaded and inappropriate as ever. He jokes on-air about having slept with not just one, but two Kardashians.

Rowan Atkinson's character, meanwhile, is still working in retail and still takes a hilarious amount of time gift-wrapping. We also find out that Jamie (played by Colin Firth) and his Portuguese wife Aurelia have children, while Sam - who is all grown up - is planning to marry his American childhood sweetheart Joanna.

But the comedy special takes a serious turn after Hugh Grant, back for his second stint as the British prime minister, delivers a heartfelt speech about the state of the world (but not before falling down the stairs while dancing to Drake's hit single Hotline Bling).

"Obviously, times - for many people - have gotten harder," he said. "People are nervous and fearful. And it's not just in politics that things have gotten tough. Usain Bolt has run his last Olympics, the Harry Potter films are finished [and] Piers Morgan is still alive."

Grant's character points out that for all the tragedy in the world, "you see bravery too".

"Wherever you see ordinary people in need, you see extraordinary people come to their aid," he said. "Most people still - every day, everywhere - have enough love in their heart to help human beings in trouble. Good is going to win, I'm actually sure of it."