If you’ve immersed yourself in all things Christmas in recent weeks, whether it’s eating non-stop festive food or binge-watching anything with a bough of holly on the cover, you might also have felt the simmering rage induced by A Kindhearted Christmas.
This typical Hallmark movie, starring 90210’s Jennie Garth, follows its lead character as she spreads festive cheer around her picturesque town through anonymous gifts.
While she hopes to remain the town’s well-wishing Secret Santa, she risks exposing herself when she starts to fall for a local news anchor.
So far, so tacky (which is exactly what a Christmas film should be).
But it’s not the wishy-washy script or woeful audience reviews (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) that has sent Brits into a fiery rage.
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It’s one particular scene of A Kindhearted Christmas, about an hour in, when the starring couple pull Christmas crackers together.
But rather than the traditional way, where you share a cracker with someone else and tug it to see who wins the bigger half, usually elbowing someone in the head in the process, they… pull the crackers by themselves (?!).
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In the scene, lead character Jamie is having a romantic dinner with Scott (Cameron Mathison), when he presents her with a pair of novelty Christmas crackers.
“These are Christmas crackers from England,” he tells her.
“Typically, you open them before the meal, but my parents always used to make us wait until dessert.
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“I’m gonna show you how to do it.”
Americans pulling Christmas crackers in A Kindhearted Christmas. Credit: Netflix
Strap in guys because he’s about to explain exactly how NOT to pull a Christmas cracker.
“So you go in here and you find the little tab,” (here he shoves his fingers into the hollow handle of the cracker), “And I’m gonna show you right here why they call them a cracker.
“Make sure you squeeze them hard, and then on the count of three, everyone pulls at the same time.
“There it is, you see, isn’t that good?”
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The sight of two people pulling Christmas crackers on their own might be the most bleak thing we’ve seen all season – and of course, other viewers have agreed.
When one person shared the clip on TikTok, Specsavers replied: “What have we just seen…”
Someone else said: “Hang on America doesn’t have them and this is how they think we open them. I’m confused about where they got this info from.”
One comment reads: “The whole of England is so confused right now.”
Someone shared: “‘We should add a scene with British Christmas crackers!’ ‘OK, but how do you open them?’ ‘Who cares!'”
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One person said on X: “So the scene with the christmas crackers in A Kindhearted Christmas is just ridiculous. It just shows that absolutely zero research was done at all. I can not believe the movie was released with that scene left in. I hope the director is embarrassed.”
@netflix@NetflixUK . So the scene with the christmas crackers in A Kindhearted Christmas is just ridiculous. It just shows that absolutely zero research was done at all. I can not believe the movie was released with that scene left in. I hope the director is embarrassed.
Someone else said: “I’m watching A Kindhearted Christmas and they’re trying to claim you pull Christmas crackers with yourself… Nooo the whole point is it’s a fight to the death”
Another wrote: “Thank you for the nod to the British tradition of Christmas crackers, but you broke hearts everywhere here by having them pull their own!”
And someone posted: “Watching A Kindhearted Christmas on @NetflixUK. Do Americans really not know how to pull Christmas crackers?” (Technically, they are Canadian).
Race Across The World star Jo Gardiner dies just one year after co-star son
Daisy Jackson
A Race Across The World star from Manchester has died just one year after her son and co-star tragically passed away.
Jo Gardiner, who starred on the hit BBC series back in 2020, died after a ‘long and courageous battle’ with cancer, her family has said.
The 61-year-old physiotherapist appeared on the second season of the travel competition, racing across Latin America with her son Sam Gardiner, who was just 19 at the time.
The pair became a fan favourite as they bonded over their travels, and Sam gained confidence to explore despite his ADHD.
Tragically, Sam passed away last May at the age of 24, following a vehicle collision in Gatley.
Paying tribute to Jo, Studio Lambert and the BBC described her as ‘the matriarch of the Race Across The World cast family’.
In the tribute, they also sent ‘deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo’s son Charlie’.
Jo’s family shared in a statement: “She had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive. She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves.
“She was blessed with countless friends, drawn to her extraordinary magnetism. Somehow, each one felt as though they were among her very best.
Jo Gardiner, from Manchester, starred on season two of Race Across The World. Credit: BBC
“To us, she was more than all of these things. She was our family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure.
“We know how deeply Jo was loved, and we take comfort in knowing that her laughter, her courage, her kindness and her wonderfully outrageous spirit will live on in the many people whose lives she touched.
“As we grieve, we ask for privacy, but we also ask everyone who knew and loved Jo to do exactly what she would have wanted: tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full.”
Studio Lambert and the BBC shared: “On behalf of the Studio Lambert production team, the BBC and the whole Race Across The World cast, we offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo’s son Charlie, and her wider family and friends.
“Following the tragic death of Jo’s son Sam last year, we paid tribute to how integral Sam and Jo had been to series two. Millions of people remembered their transformative journey across Latin America in 2020 and we hold that memory in our hearts as we fondly recall Jo’s passion for life, her kindness, her strength, and above all her utter devotion to Sam and her family.
“At the time of filming, Sam described his mum as amazing – and that is how we will always remember her.
“Jo became the matriarch of the Race Across the World cast family, she leaves a lasting legacy in the many lives that she touched, both through the series and beyond. It was a privilege to share her story and she will be deeply missed.”
Stockport actress Aimee Lou Wood set to star in new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre
Emily Sergeant
Stockport-born actress Aimee Lou Wood is set to lead a new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, it has been reported.
It was announced earlier this year that Working Title are producing a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre – which will be led by The White Lotus and Sex Education star in the titular role – and Deadline has now exclusively revealed that the BBC has joined the production as the broadcaster.
The new TV adaptation has been penned for the screen by Miriam Battye – an award-winning writer best known for her work on HBO’s Succession.
Published all the way back in 1847 and set across a number of fictional Northern England settings, the classic novel explores the moral and emotional development of orphan Jane Eyre as she searches for love, independence, and social equality in the 19th century.
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline hears that 'The White Lotus' and 'Sex Education' star Aimee Lou Wood is attached to star in a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre.
Emmy nominee Wood will play the indomitable heroine in the buzzy adaptation which we understand is… pic.twitter.com/ETBRaPJanN
Throughout the novel, Jane overcomes a harsh and unloving childhood and goes on to find work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, before falling in love with her moody master, Mr Rochester, and discovering a dark secret in his attic.
The novel is widely considered to be ahead of its time due to how it approaches topics of class, sexuality, religion, and feminism.
Jane Eyre has been the subject of a number of adaptations of the years – most notably the last major TV version being in 2006, also for the BBC, and a 2011 film starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender – but there hasn’t been any in 15 years now, and 2027 marks the 180th anniversary for the iconic story.
Aimee Lou Wood is also riding high at the moment after her Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations for Season 3 of The White Lotus, and after having also been cast as George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd, in Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopic movies, all set to be released in 2028.
As of yet, further information on when and where the new adaptation will be being filmed is yet to be released, and there is no indication of air dates either.
The BBC is expected to reveal more details in due course, so stay tuned.
Daisy Jackson -
28th December 2024 
