Charlotte Minter
Published November 25, 2025 3:30pm
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Previous Page Next Page Key Points summary__ai-icon- Joe Wilkinson speaks to Metro about his role in Waitrose’s Christmas advert with Keira Knightley and fans’ desire for a rom-com
- He shares his admiration for Knightley’s acting and reflects on their collaboration and her star power
- Wilkinson also opens up about his personal outlook on life, valuing experiences and connections over career ambitions
Joe Wilkinson kissing Keira Knightley might not have been on your 2025 bingo list, but here we are.
Waitrose’s Christmas advert, The Perfect Gift, is a short film featuring The Celebrity Traitors star, 50, who finds love at the cheese counter with the Hollywood actress, 40.
Phil, played by Joe, appears to be widowed, and glumly tells his friends: ‘Shell said the only person I could move on with was Keira Knightley’.
Enter the Love Actually star playing herself, who orders a slab of the Sussex Charmer in Waitrose at the same time as him. As you might imagine, the rest is history.
The advert is four minutes long, which is seemingly not enough time for some fans, many of whom have expressed their desire for it to be turned into a feature-length rom-com.
Metro chatted with Joe about whether this could be a possibility: ‘I think she [Keira] might be aiming a bit higher than that in her next career move,’ he responded humbly. Nonetheless, he didn’t rule out working with the actress again in the future.
Some fans want more after seeing Joe Wilkinson and Keira Knightley act in the Love Actually-style Christmas advert (Picture: Waitrose)
Joe told Metro that like Christmas, he feels like he’s not meant to be a fan of rom-coms, but he is (Picture: Waitrose)
Keira will be back for series two of spy thriller Black Doves on Netflix, and while it’s a little less schmaltzy than the supermarket’s Christmas ad, Joe said he’d be keen to feature.
‘I love Black Doves’, he said.
‘What would you say to guest-starring in that?’ Metro asked.
Joe replied: ‘I’d say, “Talk to my agent.” And then tell my agent to say: “Yes, please.”‘
Although this might not be the feature-length love story fans were pining for, Joe admitted he loves those kinds of films: ‘I’m a big rom com [fan],’ he said.
The second season of Black Doves is already in production, according to Netflix (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
‘I’m not meant to be, but I am, absolutely. Hook, line and sinker.’
When he initially read the script for the mini Waitrose film that he starred in, he found it hard to buy the concept of Keira falling for him in the story.
‘I met with the brilliant director Molly Manners, who’s amazing.
‘I’d read the script, and we were chatting about it. I was like: “I don’t understand why she’s into me.”
‘And she went: “She’s just into you”.
‘And I started to really laugh. It really made me laugh. And then I went: “Alright, I’m in.”’
Upon reading the script, Joe found it hard to believe Keira would be into him (Picture: Waitrose)
Keira happens to be in the store at the same time as Phil, and catches his eye (Picture: Waitrose)
Recalling what Keira was like on set, the actor had nothing but good things to say.
He emphasised the Pride and Prejudice star’s ‘magnetism’, saying that everything she did was ‘elegant’ and explaining that she had a kind of ‘glow’.
‘You know when you go: “Why are some people movie stars and some people not movie stars?”’ he shared.
‘And then you meet them, and you go: “It’s obvious why this lady is a movie star,”‘
Her professional skills seemed to captivate the comedian, who jokingly confessed he sometimes felt ‘out of [his] depth’ while working with her.
The short film had a few twists and turns for viewers (Picture: Waitrose)
Keira was ‘magnetising’, according to Joe (Picture: Waitrose)
Joe explained: ‘I’ve had this with a few people I’ve acted with. I sort of go: “What are you doing?”
‘And then you go, “Oh, that’s good, but I don’t know how they’re doing it… Ahh, I’m out of my depth.”‘
On a personal level too, Joe was complimentary of Keira: ‘She’s so down to earth, so lovely, and we just chatted about what we’re having for tea and stuff.’
We agreed that they’re the best kinds of conversations, before Joe revealed he was having leftovers from his Sunday roast that night.
Past this year’s Christmas Day, Joe doesn’t have many plans lined up.
Best 2025 Christmas ads
What are the best Christmas ads of 2025? Our Deputy TV editor, Tom Percival, shares his thoughts…
Waitrose: This charming four-minute rom-com has everything I want from a Christmas advert. Namely, an implausible love story, a schmaltzy tone, and cheese.
Disney: The House of Mouse got Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi to make their Christmas commercial about a little girl’s imaginary friend who comes to life. It’s sweeter than a Christmas candy cane and will bring a tear to the eye of even the grumpiest Grinch.
Asda: Speaking of the Grinch, the grumbling green git makes an appearance in Asda’s Christmas advert. In this world, the Grinch is a dad who’s worried about how much Christmas costs, but after a trip to Asda, he realises he can celebrate without breaking the bank.
Sainsbury’s: The Grinch isn’t the only storybook character who’s cashing in this Christmas. The BFG is the star of Sainsbury’s festive offering, where he helps supermarket staff take down a greedy giant.
Tesco: The best Christmas ad of the year is Tesco’s, which embraces the imperfect spirit of the season. To do so, they’ve created several short sketches that highlight the holiday’s more awkward moments, like arguing with siblings and dealing with ‘old-fashioned’ relatives.
Oh, and if you’re wondering where the John Lewis ad is, I didn’t like it.
Read more about the best 2025 Christmas adverts here
The fictional couple meet locked eyes after some of the Sussex Charmer cheese at the same time (Picture: Waitrose)
When asked what 2026 brings for him, he answered: ‘I never really think that far ahead,’ before adding: ‘I turned 50 this year, and the one thing I’m thinking about is: “Am I going to enjoy it?”
‘That’s my life plan, rather than career plan, because I think you’ve just got to enjoy these things.’
Joe went on: ‘It’s a kind of cliché, but the older you get, you go: “We only have a fleeting time on Earth.”
‘And work’s amazing and everything – it’s nice to do great things, but it’s not as important as having experiences and spending time doing things you love with people you love.’
If that’s not the epitome of the Christmas spirit, I don’t know what is.
One thing is for sure, though – Joe’s friendship with fellow Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler is still going from strength to strength after they joined forces as Faithfuls on the hugely popular BBC show.
Joe Wilkinson and Joe Marler developed a bromance on the show (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
The comedian was murdered by the Traitors (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/Matt Burlem)
‘I was so pleased he [Joe Marler] was in there, because we had such a laugh’, Joe told us.
He added: ‘A lot of times I did genuinely forget we were playing a game, because we were just misbehaving in the pool room or whatever.
‘It felt like regressing to being like a teenager, being about 15, and just mucking about, because that’s what we did.’
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The show might have ended, but they’re not done hanging out.
‘I love playing padel with Joe Marler.
‘He can get cross with me. I think he’s a slightly better padel player than me, but I’m getting there.’
The Perfect Gift by Waitrose is available to watch on YouTube.
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