The Secrets Behind Britain's Best-Loved Comedy

It remains one of the best-loved British comedies of all time, earning 4 BAFTAs and a Golden-Globe, but did you know Four Weddings and a Funeral was filmed in under six weeks and almost entirely in London and the home counties?

It is the quintessential British-ness that shines through this 90s classic, as well as the charm of a moving, funny and wholly relatable film that is gloriously un-styled in comparison to today's aspirational interiors and flawless actors. 

Here are some lesser-known facts about the film, that see it's place as one of the greatest British films of all time, and a nostalgic wonder for so many.

Did you know that Richard Curtis openly admits he wanted Hugh Grant nowhere near the role of Charles? And at one stage a young Alan Rickman was in the running. Let's take a moment...

Hugh Grant's character, Charles' flat, pictured in the infamous "Is it raining? I hadn't noticed?" end sequence of the film was shot outside 22 Highbury Terrace, N5 - the house is still there, and currently valued at just shy of £3million, which was, coincidentally, the total cost of filming Four Weddings in 1994.

The interiors for The Jolly Boatman pub, where Andy MacDowell's character, Carrie is staying and the skulking occurs, is actually The Crown Hotel in Amersham. The hotel still exists {now renovated} and guests can stay in Room 101, where the famous four-poster bed still remains.

Hugh Grant was paid 'just' £35,000 for his role. His next film, Nine Months with Julianne Moore, saw him earn £7million.

Four Weddings essentially introduced Liz Hurley to the world. A previously unknown actress, she accompanied Hugh Grant as his date to the film's premiere in that black Versace dress {with the safety pinned sides}.

Following the film's release Wet Wet Wet’s cover of Love Is All Around spent 15 weeks at the top of the UK charts, beaten only by Bryan Adams’ {Everything I Do} I Do It For You.

The small church where Simon Callow's character, Gareth's, funeral takes place beneath an ominous-looking industrial estate is St Clement's Church in West Thurrock, Essex. The factory that dominates the church's skyline is owned by Proctor and Gamble, who took responsibility for the church in 1987.

Also, following John Hannah’s heartbreaking rendition of W H Auden's Funeral Blues, 275,000 copies of WH Auden’s works sold in British book shops.

Indicative of simpler times, Tory MP Amber Rudd is listed in the film's credits as "Aristocracy Coordinator", for her role roping in peers of the realm as extras for the wedding scenes, who appeared in their own morning dress {Earl of Burlington and Simon Marquis, 3rd Earl of Woolton amongst others}.

I always loved the fact that no one's job is ever mentioned in the film. Curtis confirmed in an interview this was deliberate "When you are hanging around with your friends, you don't explain who you are. You don’t say, ‘Hello, Charles Bennett. How’s life at the bank since your father died?'"

And, perhaps the best of all: Studio Executives, concerned the film's title would discourage a male audience, wanted to change it. Contenders are said to have included Toffs on Heat, True Love and Near Misses, Skulking Around and The Wedding Season. As Scarlett would say"Fuck".