It’s that time of year again: the time when it’s ok to watch Love Actually on repeat, or maybe in between viewings of The Snowman, Miracle on 34th Street and, of course, It’s a Wonderful Life.

This year marks a decade since Love Actually was first released, (feel old? Us too) and with that shocking revelation, comes another: the film which celebrated love’s omnipresence was also intended to include a lesbian couple.

As with all creative pursuits, there comes a time when you have to get pretty brutal with the cutting, which is what happened with Richard Curtis.

The scene (which you can watch below) was intended to follow-on after another that also remained on the cutting room floor, which saw Emma Thompson’s character’s son being reprimanded for writing an ‘inflammatory essay’ by a stern headmistress (Anne Reid).

The following scene sees Reid return home after work to her female partner, who we see is dying of terminal cancer. The scene that plays out between the two women is incredibly touching, and incredibly sad.

Watch the lesbian scene that never actually made it into Love Actually