Thompson and Rickman to star in Reid poem adaptation

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Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman
Image caption,

Thompson and Rickman appeared in Harry Potter films together

Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman will play former lovers in a BBC Two adaptation of Christopher Reid poem The Song Of Lunch.

The pair previously played an unhappily married couple in the 2003 movie Love Actually and have also appeared together in Harry Potter films.

Reid's poetry collection, A Scattering, won the Costa Book of the Year in 2009.

The TV adaptation, described as a blend of drama and poetry, will be aired on National Poetry Day on 7 October.

Rickman plays a disillusioned editor who has lunch with his former mistress at the Soho restaurant where they used to meet.

BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said Reid's poetry would be brought to life "with a truly ambitious project and a stellar cast".

"We hope that audiences will enjoy this dramatisation of Christopher Reid's touching and witty poem and maybe feel inspired to indulge in a little more poetry themselves," she added.

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