One of the biggest British comedy films ever

Notting Hill director Roger Michell has died at the age of 65, his publicist has announced.

His other credits included the Jim Broadbent film The Week-End, My Cousin Rachel with Rachel Weisz and TV series including The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies.

But it was for the 1999 romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant that he will be best remembered, as it became one of the highest-grossing British films of all time.

In an interview last year, he said: ‘I am surprised and delighted 20 years on people are still talking about it and celebrating it.

‘I would like to have another go at a rom-com but they are really hard to do. It's much harder to do comedies than serious films.’

He last year separated from his second wife, Motherland and Line Of Duty star Anna Maxwell Martin, and  is survived by four children.

Published: 23 Sep 2021