Love Actually fans plague London street made famous by movie

Angry residents on a street where Love Actually was filmed say their lives are being made miserable by hordes of tourists wanting to take selfies on their doorstep.

St Luke’s Mews in Notting Hill, London, is visited each week by hundreds of fans of the 2003 romantic comedy, who flock from around the world to pose for photos in front of a pink house made famous by the film.

The house was used in one of the film’s most iconic scenes, in which Andrew Lincoln declares his love for Keira Knightley’s Juliet, declaring with a series of placards, “You’re perfect to me.”

But the owner of the terraced property is fed up with tourists who continue to ignore a warning issued exactly three years ago by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) urging people to stay away from the scenic street.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “I had no idea it was actually love when I bought the house – the real estate agent didn’t tell me.

The property featured in one of the most iconic scenes in the 2003 film, where Andrew Lincoln revealed his immortal life for Keira Knightley’s character with a series of posters

“I got the job in 2002, before Instagram or smartphones even existed.

“My main problem is the tour guides and the people who make money there.

“I put a charity collection bucket outside my door and ask tourists to leave some money in it when they come to visit.”

A tourist there said last week that she had traveled to the area specifically to see the house.

However, hundreds of tourists are reportedly visiting the street every week to take photos – with one flying in from Texas, America, to take a picture last week (fans pose for a group photo).

Fans even let their dogs pose for photos in front of the colorful house

More than 3,000 images on social media have been tagged with the street name. It has been almost exactly three years since the local council issued a press release urging fans to go elsewhere and leave the street alone (pictured are fans posing in front of the house).

Lauren Robertson of Austin, Texas said: “I wanted to come down to Notting Hill and walk down this street to see the house in the scene from Love Actually where they’re all holding up the placards.

“We love this movie so we came here to see it and it’s cool to see it for real.”

In January 2020, the local council issued a press release urging people to stay away and saying the pink house’s owner was increasingly frustrated by the unwanted attention.

There are almost 3,000 Instagram posts with St. Luke’s Mews as a location and probably thousands more.

They feature bloggers and Instagrammers posing in front of the house, and there’s even a dedicated location pin on the social media page.

The house rose to fame during Andrew Lincoln and Keira Knightley’s scene near the end of the 2003 rom-com, in which Lincoln drops a series of cards professing his love for Juliet, his co-star’s character

Beaming: Keira Knightley posed smiling on the front doorstep of the pink house in Notting Hill

At the time, a spokesman for the council said they would “step in to protect residents’ privacy and encourage visitors to try other famous spots in the district.”

They say movie buffs would be better off visiting Portobello Road, used in the 2014 Paddington film and its 2017 sequel and home to the world famous market, or Kensington Gardens, the location for the famous fight scene between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in the second Bridget Jones’s Diary film.

Some of the Notting Hill home’s unwelcome visitors even take organized tours and other couples have had their wedding photos taken outside.

The homeowner said in 2020: “I had no idea this house was in the movie when I bought it before the Instagram craze and now I live under a blanket of selfies, tour guides and a line of tourists queuing.” to take photos at the weekend .

“They even walk into my house when the door is open and think it’s some kind of theme park.”

She said she has now set up a donation box outside and would give the money to homeless charities in the area.

Some of the brightly colored homes have previously sold for around £3million. Pictured is a fan posing for an Instagram photo

She added: “To make something good out of this urgent situation, I am asking people to respect the fact that not everyone has a home over their head and donate to homeless charities, either yourself or through the little pink box outside.

“I have helped several people get into shelters and all proceeds go to local charities.

“Those who make money doing tours of the stables, sometimes in a blacked-out van, for their own personal gain should think twice.”

An RBKC spokesman said: “We want to help protect the privacy of our residents.

“Our district is home to so many famous scenes from popular movies and TV shows. There’s a lot to see, so we encourage visitors to give the Love Actually House owners a break and try Portobello Road or one of our beautiful parks instead.’