Hugh Grant Returns to H&F's Big Christmas Day Lunch
Actor volunteers to help out at festive meal for the elderly
Hugh Grant (right) with one of the guests at the event. Picture: H&F Council
December 30, 2025
Hollywood came to Hammersmith on Christmas Day when actor Hugh Grant joined hundreds of older residents at Hammersmith & Fulham’s annual Big Christmas Day Lunch.
The Chiswick-raised star and patron of local charity H&F Giving attended the event at the Novotel in Hammersmith on Thursday 25 December, helping to spread festive cheer among more than 400 guests.
It is the second time the star of the Paddington and Bridget Jones films has turned up at the event having previously appeared at the 2023 meal.
The long-running lunch, which is financially supported by Hammersmith & Fulham Council alongside donations from residents and local businesses, is open to older people who would otherwise have spent Christmas Day alone. Now in its fourth decade, the celebration has been running for more than 30 years, with some of its original volunteers now attending as guests.
The free day out included a traditional roast dinner, live music from Vivid Music, dancing, gifts and free transport to and from the venue. More than 20 buses and taxis were laid on to bring residents to the event.
Hugh Grant was joined by council leaders including Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham, and Cllr Alex Sanderson, Deputy Leader, as well as the borough’s Mayor, Cllr Sharon Holder, Deputy Mayor Cllr Daryl Brown and Cllr Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform. Local MPs Ben Coleman, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, and Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, also attended.
More than 65 volunteers worked alongside the council’s events team on the day, serving lunch and supporting transport services. Others gave up their time earlier in December to help pack gifts for guests, with each person receiving a festive food hamper containing items such as soup, shortbread, chocolates, honey, jam and tea.
There were over 400 guests at the meal.
Picture: H&F Council
Louise Wilson, Executive Director at H&F Giving, said, “A massive thank you to the whole H&F community for making this special day happen, including everyone who donated and volunteered, all of our sponsors, and to H&F Giving’s patron Hugh Grant for taking time out on Christmas Day to sit down and chat with our older and isolated neighbours.
“Days like this are only possible year on year because of the generosity of the community and everyone coming together to help their neighbours.”
Special guests on the day also included the Pearly Queens of Fulham, one of the Mayor’s chosen charities, while attendees were able to take home souvenir photos thanks to Photobooth First.
The event was supported by a wide range of local organisations and businesses. The Hurlingham Club Foundation donated the turkeys for the lunch, Olympia sponsored the entertainment, and several groups – including Friends of Brook Green, North, Wates, ThermoServ Limited and Chelsea Supporters’ Trust – sponsored tables. Additional support came from The Julia Rausing Trust, Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity, Shoots & Leaves and Hammersmith BID, with the Novotel providing decorations and Blueprint Partners producing promotional videos free of charge.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |