Love Actually sequel: Relief for fans as Hugh Grant's PM and Martine McCutcheon's character are reunited

Love Actually fans will be relieved to know that 14 years on Hugh Grant's prime minister has been reunited with assistant Natalie, played by Martine McCutcheon.

Images from the sequel 2003 hit, which is being produced as a 10-minute film made for Comic Relief, showed the two together.

Red Nose Day director Emma Freud, partner of Love Actually director Richard Curtis, has tweeted a series of messages and images from the set, including one of McCutcheon as Natalie which says: "Our pm is still married. And she's still lovely."

Another, showing Grant speaking at a podium, says: "And here he is. Our Prime Minister. Again. And still hot."

Other tweets from Freud show journalists assembled for a press conference, presumably set at Number 10.

Dubbed "Red Nose Day Actually", the short film, which has been written by Curtis, the original film's creator, will air during BBC One's live Red Nose Day 2017 programme on March 24.

Other members of the cast have also reunited for the sequel, including Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth and Rowan Atkinson.

Emma Thompson's character, however, will not appear. The actress recently said it would be "too sad and too soon" after the death of her co-star Alan Rickman for her to take part.

In the original film, Rickman played Thompson's on-screen husband, Harry, who is tempted away by his secretary, played by Heike Makatsch.

The much-loved actor died aged 69 in January last year.

Thompson said: "Richard [Curtis] wrote to me and said 'darling we can't write anything for you because of Alan' and I said 'no of course, it would be sad, too sad'.

"It's too soon. It's absolutely right because it's supposed to be for Comic Relief but there isn't much comic relief in the loss of our dear friend really only just over a year ago."