Crown Media Will Kemp
Will Kemp’s new European Christmas movie has finally been officially announced. The star is perhaps best known among Hallmark viewers for his highly-rated “Christmas Waltz” film starring Kemp and Lacey Chabert. His new movie was filmed on location in London.
He Stars Opposite Reshma Shetty
Kemp stars opposite Reshma Shetty in the new movie called “Jolly Good Christmas,” Variety reported. He plays the role of David, an American who relocates to a London architecture firm. He hires Shetty (who plays the role of Anji) as a professional shopper to help him find a gift for his girlfriend.
The script was written by Ron Oliver and the movie is directed by Jonathan Wright.
Kemp has starred in numerous Hallmark movies, including “The Christmas Waltz,” “Love, Romance & Chocolate,” and “Royal Matchmaker.” He also starred in “The Princess Switch” movie series, “Spinning Out,” “Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce,” “Barbarians,” “Doom Patrol,” “Code Black,” “The Great Fire,” “Non-Stop,” “Reign,” and more.
Kemp shared the news on Instagram, writing: “Officially joining @hallmarkchannel Countdown to Christmas c/o @variety !! First look 📸 @robbakerashton with @reshmashetty #London #christmas #film #Fun #JollyGoodChristmas”
Shetty shared the same photo and wrote, “So the script is so cute , and it was honestly such silly fun to shoot . And come on it’s premiering during Hallmarks Christmas movie countdown. And we are both cute ;) @hallmarkchannel @variety @iamwillkemp @robbakerashton #london #jollygoodchristmas.”
Shetty’s credits include “Monarch,” “Blindspot” (Megan), “Instinct” (Maya), “Pure Genius” (Dr. Talaikha), “Royal Pains” (Divya Katdare), “Happyish” (Maya), and more.
Will Kemp shared this picture of himself doing ADR (additional dialogue recording) on Hallmarks’ JOLLY GOOD CHRISTMAS.
IMDb also lists additional stars in the movie, including Callum Blue, Su McLaughlin, James Faulkner, Sophie Hopkins, Amerjit Deu, Montana Manning, Jules Knight, Martin Miller, Oona Kirsch, Matt Ray Brown, Melanie Wilder, Charlie Carter, Andrea Vasilou, and more.
The Movie Was Filmed in London
The movie is filmed in London, including residential areas in the northwest region and the Piccadilly Circus region, Variety noted.
Samantha DiPippo, senior vice president for development and programming at Crown Media Family Networks, told Variety: “We’re thrilled to have been able to feature famous sites and set our story against the unique backdrop of London at Christmastime.”
Kemp has been hinting about the movie on social media for quite some time.
He shared this photo in February:
Shetty has also been hinting about the movie. She shared at the end of January revealing that she had just arrived in London for her new job.
The movie was originally called “Christmas in London” during filming.
Hallmark’s CHRISTMAS IN LONDON, starring Will Kemp and Reshma Shetty, filming now in England.
Oliver posted on Twitter that the movie is “an homage to Frank Capra’s ‘It Happened One Night.’” He also shared Heavy’s story about the movie being named “Christmas in London.”
Early rumors had indicated that Oliver had planned to have Ryan Paevey star in the movie. However, Oliver confirmed in his Instagram post and on Twitter that he was not directing this movie and Paevey was not starring.
Ron Oliver confirmed he penned the script for Hallmark’s CHRISTMAS IN LONDON, set to start filming in January in the UK, but won’t direct. Jonathan Wright (CHRISTMAS CEO, CHRISTMAS NEXT DOOR) will direct the movie, which is likely to be a marquee 2022 project for Hallmark.
Oliver finished writing the first draft of the movie in March 2021, according to an Instagram post he shared at the time.
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