Let’s say you’ve completed a marathon or two, and you’ve decided that you want to take your running to the next level. You decide to try an ultramarathon, such as a 50-mile race or 100-mile one.

Or perhaps you’ve enjoyed long bicycle rides and are now considering ultra-distance cycling, races of 125 miles or longer that last six hours or more.

Now you’ve got to start training your body to handle those kinds of races. But it’s not just about training your muscles. Training for an ultra-endurance sport, which includes ultramarathons and ultra-cycling, means training your stomach, as well. That means training yourself to eat – and to eat frequently.

And it’s not just a matter of eating some food during the races (while staying hydrated), it’s also about finding the right food for you while training, during the race and afterward.

There’s a common refrain from ultra-endurance competitors: food is fuel.

“If you want to be able to perform during a training run or race, [food is] your body’s fuel. So think of your body like a car. You’re not going to go on this long-distance journey with your gas tank on E. You’re going to start the road trip off with the fuel tank full,” explained Amy Goblirsch, a registered dietitian at the Running Dietitian and an ultramarathon runner.

While that may be true for regular sporting events, even a marathon, it’s especially true with ultra-endurance sports.

You can probably run a marathon without eating during the race itself; similarly, you can probably do a weight-training session without fuelling up during sets.

But ultra-endurance competitions mean that you have to eat regularly and eat enough calories to get you through it. That may mean eating every 30 minutes to an hour for the length of the event, which can last eight to 36 hours.

Ashley Paulson, an iFit trainer and professional ultrarunner, explained: “You can be in the best shape of your life. You could have dialled in every bit of your training. But if your fuel goes out the window, so does your competition.”

But food is more than fuel, noted Supatra Tovar, a clinical psychologist, registered dietitian and fitness expert. She said: “It directly affects physiology, mental clarity, emotional regulation and overall safety. These events place enormous stress on the body through long hours of sustained effort, elevated stress hormones, fluid and electrolyte loss, gastrointestinal strain and nervous system fatigue. What you eat and drink can determine whether you finish strong, struggle through the final miles, or end up injured or unwell.”

Paulson noted that without the fuel, recovery time can take longer if you are depleted. And more importantly, there’s a risk of hurting yourself.

“Guess what happens when you’re tired? You start running sloppy. What happens when you run sloppy? You get injured,” she noted. She always knows when her fuelling is off during training because she can feel it the next day.

Carbohydrates are key for ultra-endurance athletes during training and during competitions.

“Carbohydrates are going to be your body’s preferred source of energy, and what it’s going to be most efficient at breaking down for energy,” Goblirsch said. Goblirsch recommended carbohydrates like fruit snacks, Rice Krispies treats, and Uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Paulson goes for simpler food during training, like white rice, pasta, potatoes and pancakes, which are popular foods for many ultrarunners.

While Paulson loves a bag of Cheetos during a race, she prefers wetter food during the competition since she often deals with a dry mouth.

At aid stations set up five to eight hours apart (depending on the ultramarathon), she’ll choose ramen, which is wet, has carbs in the noodles and sodium in the broth, as well as bananas, apple sauce and even oatmeal if it’s liquified enough.

Meaghan Hackinen, a pro ultracyclist, typically eats easy-to-prepare foods at home like scrambled eggs or pasta during training. But as a pro ultracyclist, she’s often competing in 2,700-mile races – like the Tour Divide that goes from Banff, Canada, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico – so she often has to rely on whatever food is available at places along the way.

“You are fuelling mostly at gas stations, and so the quality of nutrition is terrible,” Hackinen noted. At petrol stations, she’ll get chocolate bars, iced coffee drinks, hand pies and frozen burritos.

Hackinen noted that people are often appalled by her diet during races, but she noted that what she eats on the road during these races is not what she regularly has at home. She’s at the mercy of what is available and the need to compete.

Other nutrients are important too, such as fats, sodium and protein.

Firefighter Rob Verhelst, who is a veteran and Ironman record holder, competes wearing full firefighter gear. He chooses peanut butter pretzels, beef sticks, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and even burgers during races.

His favourite post-race food is chicken broth. It’s warm and is full of sodium, which is important since these races deplete the body’s sodium stores.

But carbs are really crucial for these types of sports. Tovar said: “Carbohydrates remain the most efficient fuel for sustained output, especially during higher intensity segments. Even athletes who train low-carb typically perform better when they include carbohydrates during long or hard efforts.”

While eating is natural, eating a large quantity of food over a short period of time is not.

“That was one of my challenges when I first started doing endurance sports,” Hackinen said. Getting enough food and exercise was tough, “because it just upsets your stomach if you are not used to eating that much,” she noted.

During training, she has to think about how many calories she’s burning and find a way to balance that out. “There’s a saying that ultracycling is as much an eating contest as it is a physical endeavour,” explained Hackinen.

Goblirsch noted that ultra-athletes often aim to consume 60 to 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Most people are not used to eating that much in an hour, much less repeatedly over several hours.

So part of the training regime is working to get yourself used to eating. Some people may start with 30 grams per hour, but it depends on the individual. (Many factors play a role in how many calories an athlete consumes, but by Goblirsch’s estimates, an athlete might consume anywhere upwards of 10,000 calories over the course of a 36-hour, 100-mile race.)

For some people, they have to force themselves to eat, even if they don’t want to. Paulson recalled that her crew has to remind her to eat, even if she doesn’t feel like it. “Because you get to the point that everything is tired, even your digestive tract is tired of that,” she said.

Given the long distance of these competitions, ultra-endurance athletes have to think about food they can carry. There are aid stations for ultramarathons, but they can be five to eight miles apart. Paulson carries 500 extra calories in a big vest just in case she needs to rest or gets lost.

Hackinen also tries to pack enough food for 12-24 hours since she may find herself in very remote areas. She often packs gummies and Twizzlers, which can be easily chewed, peanut M&Ms and salted nuts. If it’s not too hot, she’ll bring chocolate bars. She may also add an apple or a peach.

The foods to avoid often depend on the individual. Some people may be fine with sports nutrition, like energy gels and chews; while others may not tolerate them and need naturally made food.

But there are some general categories to think about if you are fuelling for an ultra-endurance race. Part of training will be figuring out what works and what does not.

Tovar noted: “During long efforts or immediately before competition, many athletes do better limiting very high-fibre foods such as large salads or raw vegetables, extremely greasy or heavy foods if they are not accustomed to them, very spicy foods or anything unfamiliar.” For instance, Verhelst noted he avoids citrus since the acidity will cause issues in his stomach.

Hackinen noted the danger of overeating since food can be hard to find during these longer races. She may find herself drinking a full litre of chocolate milk, in part because she cannot store it and she desires it so much. Hackinen also tries to avoid any food that might be suspicious, like meat in very hot areas, since she wants to avoid food poisoning.

At the end of the day, your diet really depends on what works for you during these ultra-endurance races. Verhelst noted that one of the biggest things he wished he knew about starting his ultra-endurance training and competing was not to follow other people when it came to nutrition. He needed to find his own nutrition path to give his best in these ultra-endurance competitions.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the distance between aid stations.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Pancake Day (which falls on 17 Feb) is the best holiday of the year.

It involves no fiddly etiquette, no obscure hints as to what your loved ones really want, and no £50+ pressies: the rules are to make pancakes, eat them, and then, maybe, make more.

But for all the welcome simplicity of the holiday, the actual food can be hard to perfect. Mine all too often end up a little rubbery (though I have learned some tricks for fluffier, crispier American kinds).

Still, it’s a good thing chef Paul Foster of Michelin-starred restaurant Salt has shared some tips for pro-level pancakes.

The culinary legend, who’s paired with British Lion eggs, said: “By following some simple guidelines, anyone can make perfect pancakes.”

Here are his top 10 tips:

This makes gluten build up, which creates “tough, chewy pancakes”.

This makes the batter runnier, which allows it to “spread further and thinner” in the pan, Foster said. “The extra protein will help the pancake to set, so it is a better option than adding more milk.”

This helps to “achieve a smoother batter when hand mixing”.

Once you’ve mixed the batter, leave it to rest for 20-30 minutes, “as this will allow the flour to absorb the moisture from the egg and milk, so you achieve the desired consistency”.

It can also help your pancakes to cook more evenly, as the ingredients are better incorporated.

Usually, the more fat, the better when it comes to flavour. But for pancakes, Foster noted if you use too much oil “the batter will fry, and not brown properly”.

“It should be almost like a dry bake in the pan.”

It might sound obvious, but this “will help you achieve evenly cooked pancakes, as well as it not sticking”.

A high heat will “give a darker colour and bitter flavour”, while medium heat ensures an even cook, advised the chef.

A pinch of salt in your batter can transform its flavour, said the pro. “It won’t make it savoury, but will help to balance the flavour.”

One of the main reasons many people find flipping so tricky, Foster said, is that they don’t wait long enough to allow one side to set.

“Wait until there is no more liquid on top before flipping – or just turn them with a spatula for a safer option!”

Even chefs face the first pancake curse, apparently.

But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing: Foster said you should see it as a tester.

“This is the best way to gauge the correct temperature of the pan. It also means that the cook gets the first taste for doing all the hard work!”

If at any point you’ve been to the theatre in London’s West End over the last year, the chances are you’ve encountered rising star Chumisa Dornford-May’s voice, perhaps without even realising it.

Over the last 12 months, Chumisa has appeared in no fewer than three distinct West End shows, each completely different from the one before it.

This time a year ago, she was wrapping up a stint in the inaugural London production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812, later earning the first of what promises to be many Olivier nominations for her work in the title role.

Just months later, she landed a main role in the National Theatre’s Here We Are, notably the final show (not to mention one of the strangest) that the legendary theatre composer Stephen Sondheim worked on in his lifetime, treading the boards alongside industry greats like Jane Krakowski, Tracie Bennett and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

After that, she landed her biggest and most exciting role to date, in another Sondheim musical (and, arguably, his best), Into The Woods, in which she can currently be seen in action as Cinderella at London’s Bridge Theatre.

Not bad going, really, considering Chumisa only graduated from theatre school in 2023.

“It’s nothing I ever expected,” the Olivier nominee tells HuffPost UK of her whirlwind year.

“Every time I get a call and it’s a ‘yes’ it’s a bit of a shock. It is a little bit of a fear of mine that people are going to get sick of me soon – and that three shows in one year is too many! But yeah, I have not stopped auditioning, because the contracts that I’ve gotten are very short, so I’m just always, always in the audition room.”

Of her work ethic, she admits: “I’m probably very neurotic, so I’m a bit like a hamster on a wheel, in terms of having something on the go and having focus.

“I’m constantly stressed about being able to support myself independently. I’m not someone who loves to go to their parents to ask for money, so if I can, I’m asking my agents to submit me – even after I’ve got a ‘yes’ – for anything that they see that comes up.”

Her attitude, she says, is “let’s keep going”, because “I genuinely just love being able to pay my rent and it be through the thing that I love to do”.

By the time Chumisa landed her breakthrough role in Natasha, Pierre…, she’d already played Wednesday Addams at the London Palladium and served as an alternate for Christine in Phantom Of The Opera.

However, it was her work in the musical Dave Malloy’s twisted War & Peace adaptation that pushed her further into the spotlight, resulting in her Olivier nomination for playing Natasha Rostova.

The accolade was not something Chumisa took lightly, particularly as it was for such a “niche” show. “If you don’t know War & Peace, then you don’t have that ‘in’,” she points out. “And I don’t know a lot of young people who have read War & Peace.” When the nomination came in, then, it was “pretty intense and very unexpected” for a variety of reasons.

“It was the first time that I had led a show in that way,” she says. “And for a lot of it, I was just balls to the wall. I didn’t know what I was doing – and still don’t really know what I’m doing!

“For me, it’s just always a relief that people like it. So, when I found out I’d been nominated, I was just like, ‘oh my god – what a relief that they didn’t think my performance was bad!’.”

Natasha, Pierre… wound up scoring six Olivier nominations this year, something Chumisa discovered in – where else? – the audition room for the show she’s currently appearing in, thanks to an impromptu FaceTime from her co-star Maimuna Memon.

“I opened it and she was like this,” Chumisa recalls, mimicking speechless, open-mouthed shock. “And I had to just hang up. So for the whole audition, I was like, ‘I wonder what Muna was going to tell me? I’ve got no idea’.

“And then, I walked out and she was like, ‘babe, look at your phone, go on Instagram’.”

When she finally found out that she’d landed the nomination, Chumisa recalls “falling to the ground outside Tesco Express” in the middle of Tottenham Court Road, in busy central London. “I was like, ‘what do I do now?’. I’ve got a hair appointment!” she quips.

In fact, while she’s currently receiving praise for her work as Cinderella in Into The Woods, this wasn’t the original role she was trying out for.

Chumisa explains: “I’d been brought in for Red Riding Hood initially. I had begged to be seen for Cinderella, but they were like, ‘no, we want to see you for Little Red’.”

So, she set about preparing for her Little Red audition “to the best of my ability”, even if she knew deep down that the role was not one she felt she could play.

“I was really uptight about it, I really wanted to do a good job – and my phone rang halfway through I Know Things Now,” she says of that fateful audition. “

“That was awful – awful because it’s so embarrassing, but also awful because I was like, ‘god I have to go back to the start of this and I know in my soul that I’m not Little Red!’” she adds with a playful shriek.

“After that audition – the one when my phone rang – they called my agent and said, ‘does she happen to know the Cinderella material?’. And I was like, ’I think I’ve heard it once or twice in my life…’”

Sondheim’s Into The Woods takes inspiration from the Brothers Grimm tales we all grew up on – but these aren’t the fairytales your granny used to tell you.

In this version of the stories, Red Riding Hood’s ordeal gives her a taste for blood, resulting in her stomping around in wolfskins, supposed Prince Charmings find themselves unable to restrict themselves to just one princess and Jack’s multiple trips up beanstalks lead to a lot more bloodshed than you might remember from previous retellings.

Then, there’s Chumisa’s Cinderella, a character in a constant state of ambivalence, torn between the abusive household she grew up in and an uncertain future with a man she’s just met, which the people around her insist is what she should be aspiring to.

It’s this side of the character that appealed most to the young performer, as it made Cinderella more relatable to herself and other women of her generation.

“She is mad!” Chumisa says of her character. “She’s full of fervour and personality, and she’s imperfect, and she’s anxious, and I don’t know if we do see that in the kind of fairytale versions of her.

“What sets Cinderella apart in her Into The Woods version is that she is just someone that you would meet. She’s a friend that you would catch up with at the pub, or someone that would call you and be like, ‘oh my god, I’ve got this problem, can you please help me?’. I don’t know if the other Cinderellas [from other adaptations of the original fairytale] are actual people that you would experience in life.

“I just adore her so fully, if I’m honest. It makes me emotional – I don’t know why. I just feel like I know her. She’s in every one of my friends. She’s brave, and she’s silly, and she’s funny, and she’s neurotic.”

One of Into The Woods’ most iconic scenes sees Cinderella hashing out her problems in the fast-paced musical soliloquy On The Steps Of The Palace. This number ends with her deliberately leaving that iconic glass slipper behind as a test for her Prince, giving a bit of agency to a character who has so often been criticised for lacking in that area.

“On The Steps is a joy every night,” Chumisa beams. “I think singing that is the closest that I am to myself, on stage, that I’ve ever been. I’m really, really like Cinderella in that moment, I’m so indecisive and so neurotic, so I do really feel connected to her.”

This year marks 40 years since Into The Woods’ original debut on Broadway, and there’ve been countless revivals and reimaginings in the decades since, including a 2013 film, in which Chumisa’s character was portrayed by Anna Kendrick, alongside the likes of James Corden, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep.

Act one of the stage show reintroduces audiences to the classic fairytale characters we already know and lays out how their stories are interwoven, while the second half takes us beyond “happily ever after” to a slightly messier version of their reality.

It’s this embracing of life’s grey areas that Chumisa believes is why the show has endured over the years and still remains so popular.

“Life isn’t black and white all the time. Into The Woods is essentially, for me, accepting that grey,” she explains. “And trying to just let one another exist in the grey, and accepting people for being multi-faceted.”

She points out: “Into The Woods is about people, and the choices that they make, and the troubles we have with each other, and how we treat each other – the struggles that we will have until the Earth blows up.”

“There are so many takeaways, especially in this day and age,” she observes.

For young women, she says, there’s something to be learned from Cinderella, who wrestles between the financial security offered by the Prince, and the realisation “maybe I want something a bit more”.

“Women in general, young women, all my friends can really learn that as a modern lesson,” Chumisa says. “Of exploring both sides, and seeing where you fit on a scale.”

Another key message for modern audiences, she continues, is about “the way that he raise kids” and how the ways “we treat them when they are small affects how they behave and think and view themselves and the world as they age”.

“It’s so essential to remember that they listen and they see you and they hear you saying what you do,” she concludes, referencing the show’s iconic closing number.

Taking on a second Sondheim show in the space of a year, especially one as iconic and beloved as Into The Woods, is something Chumisa concedes has been somewhat “overwhelming”.

“It’s so important to so many people and that’s a lot of pressure,” she explains, especially as someone so early on in her performing career. Indeed, even after an Olivier nomination and a tidal wave of glowing reviews singing her praise, she admits she’s “still kind of feeling like, ‘I don’t know when I’m going to be found out’ or someone’s going to be like, ‘actually she’s really bad’”.

Thankfully, she’s also been able to take that pressure around Into The Woods’ legacy, and turn into something “exciting”.

“Instead of trying to ignore all the women who have come before me – I adore women, and I want to bring them with me,” Chumisa enthuses. “That doesn’t mean copying things that they’ve done, but rather embracing the fact that I’m carrying on the legacy that they have in playing this role, and enjoying that rather than feeling any kind of pressure about comparison – even though that is there and people do [compare].

“I think it’s such a joy, I really do! Getting to sing them and maybe present a different version or idea of what it could mean is really special. It’s an honour, really,” she adds.

A career in theatre was pretty much an inevitability for Chumisa, who was born and raised in South Africa by her mother, opera performer Pauline Malefane, and father, theatre director Mark Dornford-May.

“I grew up in a rehearsal room, essentially,” she says, recalling how she was raised in a “big theatre family” where she was exposed to “The Magic Flute, Carmen and all these amazing operas” from a young age.

The idea of performing in musical theatre, though, was something that was only really introduced to Chumisa when she moved to the UK as a teenager as a teenager to study for her A Levels.

“I never wanted to have singing be a focus in my career – I really just wanted to be an actress,” she says. “It was only when I went to Chester that I found musical theatre and kind of combined the two disciplines that I loved.”

Musical theatre, she found, was a way of bonding with her new classmates, and before long she landed her first role in a school production of Rent, playing Mimi.

Until then, her “whole singing background” had been “doing ABRSM material and different arias”, so discovering Rent’s rock opera soundtrack for the first time was eye-opening.

“I don’t know how to do that, I don’t know how to make that specific noise with my voice’,” she remembers thinking to herself. “And it absolutely changed everything.”

Despite their own background, Chumisa claims that her parents “really didn’t want me to do this”.

“The more I am in this career, the more I understand why,” she confesses. “It’s so unpredictable and you’re so unstable financially. They really wanted me to go and get a degree in English and do something else.”

A string of West End performances and an Olivier later, they’re “pretty proud” but even more “relieved” at how things have turned out for their daughter, who says that watching her mother navigate the opera industry has helped her on her career path.

She explains: “My mum is Black, and she is an amazing opera singer and actress. I think seeing her kind of bombard herself into roles that were never intended for her to be in, kind of shoving herself in and being like, ‘I can do it’, has really affected how I view going into things and inhabiting spaces where maybe someone like me wouldn’t have been welcomed before.”

Fortunately, Chumisa has found that, for the most part, the British scene is “a lot more accepting” than other areas of the entertainment industry, and “brave” in taking risks on performers from a variety of backgrounds, “whether that be how you grew up or different racial backgrounds or a different gender identity”.

This embracing of diversity is evident in Into The Woods, which showcases performers with a variety of different ages, racial backgrounds, gender identities and abilities – something which Chumisa highlights says is crucial to the show’s ethos.

“We’re representing a village,” she points out. “And within a village there are a number of different communities, genders, sexualities, ages.

“It’s so fascinating when we see it represented on stage because we think, ‘oh my god, how could this 70-year-old man have a conversation with this 15-year-old girl and it be like they’re interested in each other and kind and gentle with one another?’. But it happens literally every day!

“When you’re in the Co-Op, you are around people who are so entirely different to you – and you end up talking about, like, Flora or something…”

As for what’s next, Chumisa acknowledges that last year’s Olivier nomination has “calmed me down a bit, for sure” when it comes to seeking out roles.

“But yeah, I mean, if I did get a job that was for a year, I think I’d like to calm down and maybe not be in an audition room for a while,” she acknowledges. “I think they’ve seen enough of me. Everyone is like, ‘please leave us alone!’.”

Into The Woods is playing at London’s Bridge Theatre until 30 May 2026.

It doesn’t matter if you’re spending Valentine’s Day with that special someone, your best pal or even enjoying a night to yourself, it’s always the perfect opportunity to lean into the romance and revisit some of cinema’s great love stories.

So, if you’re at home this Valentine’s night, and struggling to pick something on the usual platforms to fit the mood, we’ve rounded up 19 of the best romantic comedies and dramatic love stories that are available to stream right now.

The film that cemented Julia Roberts’ spot as queen of the rom-coms towards the end of the 20th century, Pretty Woman paired the future Oscar winner with Richard Gere in this story about a Hollywood escort whose life is turned upside down when she falls in love with a man who has hired her services.

Julia landed her first Academy Award nomination for her work in the Garry Marshall comedy-drama, which has gone on to be considered a true classic of the romance genre.

Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze gave their entire peer group a lesson in on-screen chemistry in Ghost, resulting in that immediately-iconic potters wheel sequence.

As well as packing in both action and comedy (with Whoopi Goldberg even winning an Oscar for her comic relief performance as fraudulent-psychic-turned-real-life-medium Oda Mae Brown), it’s the central romance between Demi and Patrick’s characters that has helped Ghost stand the test of time.

Just get ready to shed some serious tears in those heartbreaking final scenes.

Oh, and while there’s no arguing that Demi Moore’s haircut in this film is iconic, we’d recommend giving it at least 24 hours before you book any impulsive salon appointments.

Stream it on: ITVX and Netflix

While The Bodyguard’s biggest legacy is probably its theme song, a cover of I Will Always Love You by the unmistakable Whitney Houston, the film also allowed the music icon to show off another of her talents, as she made her big-screen acting debut opposite Kevin Costner.

The Bodyguard centres around a budding romance between a music icon and her security, and made a huge cultural impact in the early 90s, scoring two Oscar nominations for its soundtrack and proving to be an absolute smash at the box office.

The second of three big-screen collaborations between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Sleepless In Seattle is probably the most popular and best of their films together, thanks in no small part to the distinct contributions of filmmaker Norah Ephron.

In the hit screen romance, Tom plays a recent widower who unwittingly finds a new admirer after his eight-year-old son dials into a local radio show looking for a new wife for his dad.

It tells you right there in the opening sequence that “never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”, yet people continue holding up this tragic story as a romance for the ages.

Adaptations of Romeo And Juliet – and, indeed, Shakespeare’s work in general – don’t really come much better than Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 offering.

Not only does it shift the action to the 20th century (while retaining Shakespeare’s original script), it also features Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in a screen pairing for the ages.

Look out for minor appearances from the always-dreamy Paul Rudd and all-round national treasure Miriam Margolyes, too!

Stream it on: Netflix and Disney+

OK, if we’re going to talk about Leo in the context of epic movie romances then we’re going to have to mention Titanic, right?

There’s a reason that almost 30 years on from its release, James Cameron’s historical romance still has people completely obsessed (and it’s definitely not the CGI…).

As Jack and Rose, Leo and co-star Kate Winslet brought to life a love story for the ages in Titanic, and while sadly theirs was not a romance that lasted (can we really call it a spoiler when the film came out three decades ago and the clue is right there in the name?), it is definitely still one for the ages.

Stream it on: Disney+ and Prime Video

When it comes to 90s romances, you might think of the likes of Four Weddings And A Funeral or My Best Friend’s Wedding rather than Sliding Doors.

However, while it’s probably Sliding Doors’ imaginative storytelling that stands out above its central love story, the message of the film is ultimately one about how if it’s meant to be between two people, they’ll find each other in any lifetime, and what could be more fitting for Valentine’s Day than that?

The queen of rom-coms Julia Roberts ended the decade by finally coming together with the king, Hugh Grant, in Notting Hill, another home-run for screenwriter Richard Curtis, who would go on to score major success with the likes of Love Actually and About Time.

Set in London at the end of the 20th century, Notting Hill centres around a world-famous movie star who enters a romance with a man who appears to be the only person in the country with no idea who she is.

The film is packed with iconic characters and scenes, but it’s Julia’s “I’m just a girl…” speech that most of us will recall the best.

Stream it on: Disney+ and Prime Video

Admittedly, at first glance, Shrek might seem more in the realm of a family adventure or even a buddy comedy than a great romance. What that leaves out, though, is quite how heartwarming the unlikely love story between Shrek and Princess Fiona is – and we defy anyone not to get a lump in their throat at that “but you are beautiful…” in the final stretch.

So while we’d concede this might not seem like the most obvious choice for Valentine’s Day, if you give it a watch, we promise you’ll find yourself feeling surprisingly warm and fuzzy by the finish.

Stream it on: Disney+, Now and Prime Video

That first Bridget Jones movie is an absolutely game changing rom-com that’s stacked on both the “rom” and “com” fronts.

Renée Zellweger more than earned her Oscar nomination for playing the titular character, who is first charmed by Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver and completely turned off by Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy, but as the story unfolds, our heroine takes control of her destiny, learns some big life lessons and takes a journey that ends with one of our favourite finale on-screen kisses ever.

Moulin Rouge! is about as far from a happy ending as it gets (not a spoiler, folks, it’s one of the first things out of Ewan McGregor’s character’s mouth), but it’s also a celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and, above all, love – which makes it ideal Valentine’s viewing.

Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s Christian and Satine are a love story for the actual ages, while the film itself is just an all-singing, all-dancing, all-kicking work of art, guaranteed to have you laughing, gasping, singing and undoubtedly blubbing along from the sofa.

Let’s face it, tear-jerkers don’t come much bigger than The Notebook.

That Noah and Allie’s enemies-to-lovers narrative was eventually echoed by its leads Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams only speaks to the power of The Notebook, which set a new bar for on-screen romances upon its release in 2004 – and also inspired that iconic MTV Movie Awards kiss which people still talk about to this day.

Stream it on: BBC iPlayer and Prime Video

Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice has been adapted for the big and small screen a bunch of times in the last century, and while Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy is the pinnacle for many; to a whole generation, it’s all about Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

The period piece is actually a properly star-studded one, featuring a number of British stars who have gone on to great things like Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan and Tallulah Riley, alongside screen veterans Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethlyn and Dame Judi Dench.

OK, again, we get that a Pixar sci-fi fable about the collective damage we’re all doing to the planet might not seem like a Valentine’s go-to – but we’d also argue that the love between Wall-E and Eve is one of the best love stories in Disney history, making it a great alternative to some of the more obvious romantic picks.

The action-packed movie sees Wall-E going to extreme lengths to be with the woman (well… female-coded android) he loves, and the adorable pair’s outer space “kiss” is just so heartwarming.

First and foremost, The Handmaiden – directed by Park Chan-wook, who is currently riding a wave of success off the back of No Other Choice – is a period thriller full of unpredictable twists and turns.

But at its core is a slow-burn queer love story you can’t help but find yourself rooting for as the action slowly unfolds, with an ending you’re not likely to forget in a hurry.

A star-making vehicle for its lead, the then-burgeoning Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name is an ode to first love, and how impactful it can be, even when it doesn’t last.

With great performances across the board, this sun-soaked love story will take you on a true emotional journey (even if you can’t look at a peach in the same way for weeks to come).

Stream it on: Prime Video

While Call Me By Your Name was most people’s introduction to Timothée Chalamet, that same year, God’s Own Country proved to be a launchpad for Josh O’Connor, who was nominated for a Bafta off the back of his performance.

The British romance centres around a young, jaded farmer, unsatisfied with his lot in life and the expectations on him to follow in his family’s footsteps, who begins to reassess things when his parents take on a new farmhand.

Co-starring Alec Secăreanu and directed by Francis Lee, the film became notable for its central love story, its graphic sex scenes and that rare thing in an LGBTQ+ romance (especially at this time), an actually hopeful and happy ending.

There are unconventional romances, and then there’s The Shape Of Water, Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar-winning story about the cleaner of a government lab who falls in love with one of the mysterious creatures being held captive there.

With an unforgettable performance from Sally Hawkins and a central love story that isn’t as difficult to get behind as you might think, The Shape Of Water was a more than deserving winner of the coveted Best Picture prize at the 2018 Academy Awards.

We’ve absolutely loved the rom-com resurgence of the 2020s, the best offering from which is quite possibly Rye Lane.

Set over the course of a summer day in London, the breezy movie stars David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah as two complete strangers who meet by chance and bring out the best in each other.

With nods to some of the great British romantic comedies of the 90s and 2000s to look out for (including one great cameo in particular!), the sun-drenched setting is also the perfect antidote to anyone whose February blues are hitting hard right now.

Stream it on: BBC iPlayer and Disney+