A bevy of beauties from 'Christmas is all around us'. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Seven's decision to air Love Actually yesterday evening was well received by viewers, with the movie's title trending on Twitter in Sydney and many commenting on the light relief it brought after an intense couple of days.

It was the fifth most watched program of the night (behind the news and A Current Affair) with 711,000 people tuning in around the country.

"Need a little Christmas cheer after a harrowing couple of days? Tonight we're showing #LoveActually at 830pm," the network tweeted. 

So in honour of one of our favourite Christmas movies of all time and for those who tuned in to watch it, here's ten things you didn't know: 

Love Actually was meant to be two separate films: The legendary rom-com director Richard Curtis told Vulture that he was originally working on two films, one about Hugh Grant's character and the other about Colin Firth's character. "I'd worked out whole films on those subjects, and then I thought, 'Oh, I don't want to do these because they are just turning out to be a shape I know'," Curtis said.

Hugh Grant was the butt-kicking British Prime Minister in Love Actually. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Billy Bob Thornton was afraid of some of the props: The actor who played the US President has a real life fear of antique furniture. Hugh Grant often teased Thornton on set by holding up antique pieces just before they were about to film scenes. Director Richard Curtis also revealed that Thornton was petrified of a painting. “Billy Bob Thornton is a curious man with curious phobias," Curtis told Elle. "[He told us] ‘The strangest phobia I’ve got is I’m disturbed by photographs of Benjamin Disraeli. Specifically his facial hair.’ It was really unfortunate for him that this would be the only time in his life that there is a photograph of Disraeli on the stairs in a major film he’s going to do [at the Prime Minster’s home]. We just had to walk him past the photograph. [He said] ‘I’ll just turn away at that moment and I’ll be fine.’”

The lake was only 45cm deep: Remember the lake that Aurelia and Jamie had to swim in after his novel was blown off the desk? It turns out the water was actually so shallow that the actors had to kneel down to give the impression it was much deeper.

Emma Thompson wore a fat suit: The director felt the Academy award-winning actor was too thin and needed some help from the costume department to achieve the 'mumsy' look.

Emma Thompson with Alan Rickman in Love Actually. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

The dialogue between Colin and the American girls was improvised: Some of the film's best banter was between the horny yet awkward Colin who flew to America in a desperate attempt to meet his dream lady. "It was just a lot of fun and it was such a creative space and we were allowed to improvise and try different things and it wasn't just completely set into Richard's writing," Elisha Cuthbert said to VH1.

Claudia Schiffer was never supposed to be in the movie: The original script referred to the blonde character as someone who looked similar to Claudia Schiffer. But the director had trouble finding an actor who fit the mould, so they approached the supermodel to see if she was interested. "It was funny how it ended up, you know, him getting the real deal. I just thought it was brilliant," Love Actually star Elisha Cuthbert said to VH1.com.

Elisha Cuthbert, January Jones and Shannon Elizabeth are the trio of beauties. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Liam Neeson is addicted to toothpicks: The Irish actor got hooked on toothpicks when he quit smoking almost 20 years ago. If you look closely, you can spot him holding one in several scenes in Love Actually.

The actor who played Sam is still playing a 13-year-old: Love Actually may have been a breakout movie for Thomas Sangster, but it appears he's been typecast as a teenager. He's currently starring in Game Of Thrones as 13-year-old Jojen Reed.

Thomas Sangster in Game Of Thrones. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Joanna's rendition of All I Want for Christmas was too good: Olivia Olson did such a good job performing the song that the director was worried people wouldn't believe it was actually her singing. The audio was edited in post-production to make it sound more realistic.

The airport scenes at the beginning and end of the movie are real people: The crew had cameras set up at Heathrow Airport for a week filming real people as they greeted their loved ones. Curtis told Vulture: "that was real documentary footage that we shot without anyone knowing we were shooting, and we had to rush up to people and ask for their permission to use it."