Real reason Love Actually star Rowan Atkinson took so long to wrap necklace

It's that time of year again.

Yep, it's finally Christmas season and at long last we can cosy up to all our favourite festive flicks to bring on the run-up to the big day in style.

Now, it's no surprise that Love Actually is one of the most popular British Christmas films of all time boasting a star-studded cast of Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightly and just about every other Brit A-lister you can think of.

However, not many fans of the iconic movie actually know the real reason as to why Rowan Atkinson's character took so long to wrap the necklace in one of the film's most memorable scenes. Check it out:

The film, which first graced our screens and warmed our hearts back in 2003, follows the tangled and complicated and love lives of various couples during Christmas time in chilly London.

One of those couples of course being Harry and Karen, played by Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson.

An incredibly significant part of Harry and Karen's storyline revolves around a shopping trip in which Mr Bean himself - who takes on the role of shop assistant Rufus - got up to some major faffing when Harry made the brazen decision to buy a fancy necklace for his mistress, which cost a massive £270, while his wife shopped nearby.

Yikes - I know.

Now, while many viewers must have watched in sheer agony when Atkinson spent yonks 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 elaborating packaging the sneaky purchase.

Universal

Harry was growing more and more impatient with Rufus taking so long that he finally sodded the whole thing off and told the shop assistant to 'leave it'.

Any Love Actually fanatics out there will be curious to know that this mildly infuriating yet massively hilarious scene wasn’t just for comedic purposes.

Script Editor of the Richard Curtis film, Emma Freud, revealed the real reason.

Universal

She took to X, formerly Twitter, to open about up 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."

Uh-huh, it turns out that 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.

His angelic presence was spotted at a later part in the film with his signature frustrating yet heartwarming flair at the airport when Sam, played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, rushed to say goodbye to his crush Joanna.

Rufus, with perfect timing as ever, holds up the queue by making an airport ticket agent hold all of his coats in a pile, allowing for the sweet little moment between the kids.

People couldn't wait to share their reactions to the wholesome slice of Love Actually trivia, with one X user saying Rufus just 'had to be an Aagel'.

Another penned: "OMG I KNEW IT!!!!! My husband and my family never believe me when I say he was a Christmas angel!!!!!!! Rowan Atkinson FTW!"

A final fan added: "Watched Love Actually AGAIN and seen Rowan Atkinson in a new light. Everything makes sense now. He’s a total angel."

Well, I know what I'll be watching this weekend.