We all dream of a white Christmas and that’s exactly what young lovebirds James and Hayley hope for as they head off for some festive family fun in the Austrian Alps Your Christmas or Mine 2 (released on Friday 8 December on Prime Video).
The first film, released last year, saw sweethearts Hubert ‘James’ Humphries (Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield) and Hayley Taylor (Cora Kirk) each board the wrong train and end up spending Christmas with each other’s polar-opposite families.
This time around, the working-class Taylors and the affluent Hughes families are spending Christmas skiing in the Austrian Alps. While they all manage to make it onto the same flight, James and Hayley are soon separated — again! — when a booking error results in the families ending up at each other’s accommodation!
Hayley, her dad Geoff (Line of Duty’s Danny Mays), mum Kath (Waterloo Road’s Angela Griffin), aunt Kaye (Coronation Street’s Natalie Gumede) and grandad Anthony (Desmonds’ Ram John Holder) check into a luxury mountain hotel.
Meanwhile, James, father Humphrey (Unforgotten’s Alex Jennings), his new obnoxious American girlfriend Diane (30 Rock’s Jane Krawkowski) and grandad Jack (Doctor Who’s David Bradley) find themselves at a run-down log cabin that’s lacking in Christmas joy.
In an exclusive interview, Cora Kirk, 27, reveals whether James and Hayley can reunite in time to have the perfect Christmas... or if their relationship goes off-piste.
How happy were you to get to reprise the role of Hayley?
Cora Kirk: "There was always the hope we'd make a Your Christmas or Mine 2 when we were filming the first one, so I’m buzzing that I get to step into Hayley’s shoes again. This film is really good at toeing the line between light comedy and serious drama, so I enjoy being able to play Hayley in a carefree, playful way then with real depth when Hayley and James come together. I think this film has that nostalgic feel that the best British Christmas films have, like Love Actually, making people feel a love for Christmas in a way only British films can."
Where do we find Hayley and James and their families as the film begins - and what separates the couple this time?
"Hayley, James and their families are at an airport travelling to the Austrian Alps for a skiing trip. They all board the same plane but what separates Hayley and James this time is the sheer inability of Hayley’s dad Geoff (Danny) to organise anything without the help of wife Kath (Angela). So the families end up at different hotels with each others’ luggage! Alone with James’s suitcase, Hayley makes a shock discovery…"
Sounds intriguing. Tell us more…
"All I’ll say is, what Hayley finds suggests James could be planning something. She believes they're destined to be together but that there’s still lots to learn about each other. The good news is, James and Hayley DO manage to spend a bit more time together than last time. Until something else drives them apart…"
Can we assume the drama involves their families?
"This second movie is more about James and Hayley getting to know each other as a couple and how they are as that couple around their respective families. It explores the obvious theme of class or, more accurately, the people and the personalities that cause connections to be formed and arguments to be had. There are key differences in what Geoff and Kath want for Hayley versus the kind of future Humphrey sees for James."
What was it like filming in the mountainous Austrian Alps?
"Oh, it was divine but quite stressful. I've never been that high up, nor have I ever skied. So, for the record, I cannot ski! Even just standing up on skis I found stressful. Other than that, filming in the Alps was amazing. To look out at the snowy landscape and know it was for a job was just incredible. For the first film, we had to use a lot of fake snow, this time we were actually freezing cold!"
Did you enjoy reuniting with your co-stars, particularly Asa, Danny and Angela? And what was it like having Jane Krakowski on board this time?
"It was lovely working with Asa again. Because we’re in more scenes together this time, it was easier to make Hayley and James seem authentic as a couple. Working with Danny and Angela is a scream! On the first film, when I was as green as a blade of grass, they became my family. Jane brought an amazingly fresh energy, I learned so much from her about comic timing. There’s a scene at the end where we’re all singing Christmas songs on the karaoke, which highlights just how much fun we had making this film. We had the silliest time."
What Christmas presents would you buy for your co-stars?
"I think I’d send everyone on holiday! I know he's been there before but I’d send Asa to an amazing hotel in New York for Christmas. Angela is a big fan of Soho House, so I would buy her an all expenses paid trip to one of its more exotic venues abroad. And I would buy Danny some time in his schedule, to have a break, maybe on a hot island, where he can relax and reset because he never stops working!"
Do you like Christmas? And what does Christmas mean to you?
"I LOVE Christmas! My friends have always known that so when I was cast in the first movie they were like, ‘A Christmas film? That’s your perfect job!’ And it really is. Christmas to me means family time. It means getting drunk. It means eating lots of food. I love Christmas traditions like putting up the tree and Secret Santa. I’ve lived in London for 10 years but I only went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park for the first time last year and it was brilliant. So I think my Christmases from now on will include the new tradition of Winter Wonderland!"
What's your favourite memory from Christmases past?
"When I was a kid and still believed in Santa Claus, my parents really wanted to nurture that belief. And I remember one year, my dad got a pair of boots and put icing sugar on them to make a footprint on the back porch. I remember seeing the boots and being convinced that Santa Claus was made of sugar… and that’s why he likes milk and cookies!"
Your Christmas or Mine 2 hits Prime Video from Friday December 8
