Ed Sheeran pens song for upcoming Christmas film

Ed Sheeran said he looked forward to showing the new film to his own children

Ed Sheeran has written a Christmas song for a new Netflix film.

The animated holiday film, That Christmas, is set in Suffolk will feature the singer's track, called Under The Tree.

That Christmas has been co-written by Richard Curtis, who lives in Suffolk and is the director behind Love Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Sheeran, who lives near Framlingham, described the film as "so emotional, yet so heartwarmingly funny".

"I’ve been mates with Richard Curtis for years, and we’ve done a load of fun work for charity, and then both were heavily involved in the movie Yesterday," Sheeran said.

"He came to me two years ago to play me the rough of That Christmas.

"It was just sketches and voices, but it blew me away. So emotional, yet so heartwarmingly funny, like all Richard Curtis movies."

Sheeran said that he felt there was "a real lack of great animated children's Christmas movies" and it "felt so good to create something my children would watch".

"I find it mad that there isn’t more animated Christmas films for kids, but this is going to become a holiday staple, at least in our household," he added.

The animated film is based in Suffolk and features familiar areas of the county

Curtis said he was "thrilled" to have worked with Sheeran.

"It’s a film set in Suffolk," he explained.

"Ed lives in and loves Suffolk and completely understood the pitch and tone of what we were trying to do.

"We’ve been friends for many years and - especially now that he's a husband and a father - it’s really lovely to have him play such a key part in this film about love, children and family.

"And, of course, even if he wasn’t a friend and didn’t love Suffolk, how marvellous to have a wonderful new song by one of the greatest British songwriters ever."

The film, which was also written by Peter Souter and directed by Simon Otto, will be released on 6 December.