Colin Firth makes Love Actually nod in most unexpected Christmas advert of the year

| Senior TV Reporter Published November 5, 2026 9:47am Updated November 5, 2026 9:47am To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Christmas adverts are coming thick and fast, with a new entrant starring Colin Firth as a roaming Londoner who makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to Love Actually. The actor leads Arsenal Football Club’s Christmas advert, which celebrates the side’s Premier League title win and FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, all with a festive twist. Firth plays an Arsenal fan, in a sort of reprisal of his role in the 1997 film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel Fever Pitch. Set in the streets of north London and titled ‘Twas the Season, the advert sees Firth walking along with a sea of red and white shirts, all heading to the club’s Emirates Stadium. The mini-movie recreates the Islington crowds seen in May, when the Gunners gathered en masse to celebrate the club’s first win in 22 years. Firth walks past all the hallmarks of Christmas: twinkling fairy lights, tinsel and conifer trees being shlepped back home. Colin Firth plays an Arsenal fan, in a sort of reprisal of his role in Fever Pitch (Picture: Arsenal) The advert will probably divide reception along the line of whether or not you’re an Arsenal fan (Picture: Arsenal) All the while he delivers a monologue that playfully doubles as a celebration of the season and an encapsulation of the club’s run-up to their 2025/2026 victory, which wasn’t without moments where all appeared lost for their title hopes. ‘Quite the season. Joy. Festivity. Everywhere you look,’ Firth says. ‘And yes, a bit of stress. One or two ups and downs. But we still share it. As families, friends and a lot of strangers.’ Then he encounters Arsenal players Alessia Russo, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhães gathered at a cafe (wearing the team’s merch, naturally) and says in Portuguese: ‘Across a language barrier.’ The players jokingly reply that they don’t know what he says, in an exchange that appears to reference Firth’s Love Actually character, who learns Portuguese to woo his housekeeper (Lucia Moniz) after falling in love at a cottage in France. In Love Actually, Firth’s character falls in love with his Portuguese housekeeper (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo) Arsenal players Alessia Russo, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhães feature in the advert (Picture: Arsenal) Firth rounds a corner to the club’s N5 home, where fireworks pop and the actor is handed a baby, at which point the ad ratchets up to emotional heights that will probably divide reception along the line of whether or not you’re an Arsenal fan. ‘The story of people following stars,’ says a warbling Firth. ‘Shiny things tied with red and white ribbons. Horns, bells, voices singing in the streets. Wishes coming true all at once.’ The Christmas advert then culminates with the ‘Twas the Season title in a banner outside the stadium and the tagline: ‘Gifts worth waiting all season for.’ Brazilian centre-back Magalhães said of appearing in the campaign: ‘At Arsenal, we support each other and keep moving forward together. ‘The support I feel from the club and our supporters means so much to me and my family. Christmas is about being together, showing thanks and remembering what matters. Deals of the Day QVC shoppers can save £159 on Elemis' biggest beauty gift set of the year This Hoover vacuum is a game-changer for pet owners and muddy homes The wellbeing brand behind everyone's favourite candles has launched its biggest sale yet See London's Christmas lights from an open-top double-decker bus this winter My skin always suffers when the heating goes on but this serum changed that ‘This film celebrates that connection, and we want to carry that with us as we look forward to everything we have ahead.’ Arrow MORE: Lego’s Christmas ad features Daft Punk and Doctor Doom Arrow MORE: Mikel Arteta brands Arsenal stars ‘extremely far from our standards’ in Slavia Prague win Arrow MORE: Forget The Muppets, Wallace and Gromit have the best Christmas advert this year TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.