Waitrose releases six-minute Christmas film with Keira Knightley
Longest advert ever produced by a UK supermarket, Prague Philharmonic scores the sequel while John Lewis is roasted for entitled grandchildren
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Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson return for Waitrose's Christmas advert
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Waitrose has released a six-minute Christmas film starring Keira Knightley, the longest advert ever produced by a UK supermarket. The Perfect Gift 2, a sequel to last year's launch, was directed by Molly Manners and scored by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
The production has the grammar of a feature film: sweeping crane shots, snowy country-house sets, and a love triangle in which Knightley's character must choose between Phil, played by comedian Joe Wilkinson, and Hugo Bunty-Griffin, played by Alex Hassell. Phil races to stop her wedding armed not with a ring but a homemade beef Wellington. Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond of This Morning appear in the trailer. Knightley said she was not expecting to find herself "caught between two men and a beef Wellington".
The supermarket Christmas advert has quietly become an entertainment industry with premieres, reviews and now sequels. Waitrose confirmed the film is the longest a UK grocer has ever made, and the studio treatment — named director, philharmonic score, Hollywood lead — reflects where the audience actually is. When viewers decide what to watch, the advertisement has to become something they would choose to watch; the ad break can no longer deliver attention, so the ad itself must be programmed.
The competitive stakes are visible in the same week's coverage. John Lewis has been criticised over its 2026 campaign, which features Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, with shoppers on social media calling its portrayal of "entitled" grandchildren out of touch during the cost-of-living crunch. Lidl has hired EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson to perform a Slade parody, "Lidl Christmas Everybody", while delivering budget festive staples in a branded knit. Every grocer is now in the film business, and each December release is judged like one.
Nathan Ansell, Waitrose's chief customer officer, is betting a philharmonic-scored romcom can carry the brand through the season. Joe Wilkinson put the strategy more plainly: if a beef Wellington doesn't win back the heart of a Hollywood A-lister, nowt will.