Rowan Atkinson finally confirms viral Love Actually theory about why he took so long to wrap necklace

It's that time of year again when we all whack on our comfies, stick on the telly and watch hours upon hours of our favourite throwback Christmas flicks.

And up there with the festive classics is, of course, Love Actually - AKA the gut-wrenching and deliciously British rom-com which hit cinemas and warmed our hearts back in 2003.

Despite being over two decades old, the hype surrounding the star-studded Richard Curtis film is still going strong, with many fans still sharing their verdicts on all its hidden details, behind-the-scenes tidbits and fan theories.

One of the most famous Love Actually theories is that Rowan Atkinson, the now-70-year-old actor who played jewellery sales assistant Rufus, was actually a Christmas angel.

Now, for those who need their memory jogged, Rufus appeared in a scene with Alan Rickman's Harry, and he tried to stop Harry from cheating on his wife, Karen, played by the fabulous Emma Thompson.

At the time, Harry was out shopping with Karen and decided to buy a necklace for his secretary, Mia (Heike Makatsch).

To avoid that, Rufus started overwrapping the pricey bit of bling, which cost a massive £270.

While many viewers must have watched in sheer agony when Rufus spent ages wrapping up the gift - complete with ribbons, flower petals and even whole flipping cinnamon sticks - there was a hidden reason as to why he spent so long elaborately packaging the sneaky purchase.

Fans have theorised for years on social media over why the character does this, but Atkinson has finally confirmed the theories.

Rowan Atkinson's character of Rufus spent ages wrapping up the necklace in the iconic Love Actually scene (Universal)

He recently sat down with Scott Mills on BBC Two’s Breakfast show, promoting his new Netflix show Man vs Baby.

During the chat, Mills asked about the claims that, in earlier versions of the script, Rufus was originally meant to be an 'angel' in an earlier draft of the film's script and was potentially supposed to have completely stopped Harry’s affair from happening altogether.

"Well, actually, I mean in theory [being a Christmas angel] is still his role when my character is doing the wrapping in Selfridges of the gift," Atkinson shared.

Atkinson revealed his character was actually an angel in the hit 2003 Christmas rom-com (Universal)

Script editor Emma Freud also previously confirmed such a theory.

She took to X to open up about the famous on-screen exchange, writing: "Originally Rowan’s character over-wrapped the gift on purpose to stop Alan Rickman being able to buy the necklace.

"Because he was an angel."

Adorable.