Love Actually fans say tearjerking scene should never have been cut from the movie

Almost 20 years have passed since it landed in cinemas and Love Actually remains one of the best-loved Christmas films ever.

Even with its questionable storylines and dearth of diversity, fans still watch it on a loop to this day.

And its success is in no small part down to its cast, with a whole host of British stars, from Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson to Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson, leading the film.

However, two characters who never made it into the final edit were those played by British cinema legends Anne Reid and Frances de la Tour.

Reid was supposed to be the headteacher at the local primary, while de la Tour was her partner, Geraldine.

In the deleted scene, which the film's writer Richard Curtis says he regrets leaving out, Reid returns home from work and Geraldine is in bed.

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It immediately becomes clear at seeing Geraldine that she is unwell.

As the scene goes on, she is seen coughing and in a lot of pain, with Reid's character holding her in bed.

It then cuts to Thompson's character, who is seen giving a speech in the school hall.

She says: "I’d just like to say to our headmistress, on behalf of all the parents, that we think it’s very brave her being here today in light of her recent loss.

"Geraldine was a wonderful and wicked woman, and sorrow is particularly hard at Christmas."

Speaking about the scene, Curtis said it wouldn't have made sense if it had been kept in as it followed on from another scene that had also been cut, which involved Thompson's son and Reid's character discussing an essay on 'farts' that he had written.

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Curtis said: "I was really sorry to lose this.

“The idea was meant to be that you just casually meet this very stern headmistress, but later on in the film we suddenly fell in with her and you realise that, no matter how unlikely it seems, any character you come across in life has their own complicated tale of love."

The writer also said that he wasn't particularly happy with how Geraldine's death was revealed at the end, adding: "It jumps rather quickly at the end because you find out what’s happened to them in a bleak manner."

However, fans of the film have expressed their sadness at the scene being cut.

Taking to Twitter to share their sorrow, one person wrote: "It’s a tragedy we lost this. But not as much as these feels. I’m so sad this wasn’t in the film."

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Another said: "As if Love Actually has a deleted scene about a lesbian couple, it's actually a really sad one too."

"The deleted scene with the head mistresses wife dying... So sad! That is an amazing love story."

"How have I only just learnt about the entire lesbian storyline that was cut from Love Actually with FRANCES DE LA TOUR and ANNE REID," put a third.

While another asked: "Can we please have a new cut of Love, Actually with the creepy best man storyline removed and Anne Reid & Frances De La Tour put back in?"