You know Christmas is near once the festive adverts start rolling out. Last week, John Lewis dropped their Christmas advert, which had us all sobbing. And now Waitrose have released theirs, starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson (yes from The Celebrity Traitors) as unlikely love interests.
Directed by Bafta-winning Molly Manners, the advert follows the brewing relationship between Knightley and Wilkinson.
The clip starts with the duo first bonding over the Waitrose cheese counter and ends with them sharing a passionate kiss in the snow, after he makes Keira's Nan's turkey pie recipe and delivers it to her door.
The advert’s soundtrack features the song 'She’s A Star' by the British band James. (You can watch the full clip above).
As well as the super cute rom-com tropes, there are also some secret nods to Knightley's career, which you may have missed while watching.
Here's everything you need to know.
Love Actually
In the final scenes of the advert, Keira welcomes Joe at her front door. It's very similar to a scene from the 2023 Christmas rom-com, Love Actually, in which she played Juliet.
One fan pointed this out on X (formerly Twitter), writing: "Tis the season for Keira Knightley to greet you at the door" alongside some screen grabs of Keira's acting jobs.
Black Doves
Similarly, in season one of Black Doves, which came out last year December, there is a scene where Keira's character Helen is at the door. It's Christmas, there's a wreath on the door and she's wearing a cosy jumper - much like in the new ad.
Silent Night
In 2021, Keira starred in the Netflix horror/comedy, Silent Night, which sees Nell (Keira) and Simon (played by Matthew Goode) host a Christmas dinner for their school friends and their families.
In one scene, Keira can be seen at the door with Annabelle Wallis who plays Sandra - and it's giving similar vibes to the new Waitrose advert.
Joe reprises role
In the new advert, Keira bakes cookies for Joe, which could be referring to the comedian's brief stint on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer in 2019.
The 2025 advert is also a nod to the last year's, in which Joe first starred as Phil.
The 2024 two-part campaign was was titled "Sweet Suspicion, A Waitrose Mystery" and included Succession star Matthew Macfadyen, Rakhee Thakrar from Sex Education, Fleabag's Sian Clifford, Slow Horses actor Dustin Demri-Burns, Eryl Maynard of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple as well as Wilkinson.
