Waitrose Launches Rom-Com Christmas Ad With Keira Knightley

Waitrose has launched its rom-com themed Christmas campaign ‘The Perfect Gift 2’. 

Following on from 2025’s ‘The Perfect Gift’, the film – now the longest advert ever produced by a UK supermarket – sees Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson return, with Alex Hassell joining the cast as Hugo Bunty-Griffin. 

“Last year’s The Perfect Gift sparked a huge reaction, and our customers were clear: they wanted to know what happened next,” says Nathan Ansell, Chief Customer Officer of Waitrose. 

“So this Christmas we’ve given them a bigger, bolder sequel, with a love rival, a race against the clock and a beef Wellington as an unlikely hero. 

“Every great rom-com needs a moment where all seems lost, and ours just happens to be wrapped in pastry.”

Inside the ad

The hero film, directed by Molly Manners, follows on from last year’s ad – with Keira Knightley set to marry Alex Hassell’s Hugo Bunty-Griffin, while Phil (Joe Wilkinson) is heartbroken. 

To win her back, Phil interrupts the wedding with a homemade beef Wellington, which ends up sliding down the aisle to Keira's feet, alongside a homemade jar of sauce labelled ‘Marry Me Instead?’. 

This prompts Keira to leave Hugo at the altar, getting down on one knee with a cheese board – with the homemade jar of sauce at the centre. 

“Like last year, we approached the edits as a film studio would, with trailers to hook you in and the full film available online to give this story the space it deserves,” says Nathan. 

“We significantly raised the creative and production stakes by extending the mini-film by two minutes, making it an ambitious six-minute cinematic romcom – the longest advert produced by a UK supermarket – while keeping our exceptional food credentials firmly at the narrative core. 

“This is our way of giving audiences the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, and we hope it brings a smile, and a little inspiration, to homes across the country this Christmas.”

A highly anticipated sequel

‘The Perfect Gift 2’ follows on from Waitrose’s 2025 Christmas campaign, which, according to Ipsos’s ‘Race to Christmas’ 2025 tracking data, was the public’s favourite Christmas ad during the holiday season – with 15% of respondents spontaneously recalling it as their top choice. 

Last year, the ad drew 2.3 million viewers during its premiere, taking the most-watched 8pm slot on UK television that night with a 21.5% audience share.

This year’s six-minute ad, meanwhile, reached 2.1 million viewers and was the second-most watched 8pm slot that night, falling just behind Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off.

“I always felt last year’s love story deserved another chapter, and what a sequel this has been,” Keira Knightley said of the sequel. 

“I absolutely loved the chance to revisit our relationship this Christmas, although I wasn’t expecting to find myself caught between two men and a beef Wellington! 

“Making this short film has been so much fun. I hope it brings a little festive magic to everyone who watches it.”

Who are the John Lewis Partnership’s key partners? 

Waitrose and its parent company the John Lewis Partnership work with several leading organisations, including: 

• Google Cloud: The John Lewis Partnership has a major strategic partnership with Google Cloud, helping to modernise its technology, e-commerce and data operations across both John Lewis and Waitrose.
• Deloitte: The strategic partnership between John Lewis and Deloitte began in 2019 when Deloitte was appointed as the main transformation partner to support the retailer's multi-year digital and operational evolution. 
• Saatchi & Saatchi: Saatchi & Saatchi London was appointed as John Lewis’s lead creative marketing partner in May 2023. 
• Salesforce: John Lewis uses Salesforce technology to unify data and improve customer and employee experiences.