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Former EastEnders star Ben Hardy's new movie confirms UK release

ben hardy, jason patel, unicorns
Former EastEnders star's movie confirms UK releaseCourtesy of TIFF

Former EastEnders star Ben Hardy’s new film Unicorns has confirmed that there will be a UK release.

The romance drama debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September, but Variety has reported that the UK and Irish rights to the film have now been acquired by Signature Entertainment.

Unicorns follows a mechanic and single dad (Hardy) who is forced to reckon with his sexuality when he kisses a queer club performer (Jason Patel) and the pair form a connection.

ben hardy, jason patel, unicorns
Courtesy of TIFF

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The film is directed by Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd, with Floyd also writing the script, and the pair said on the news: "We are thrilled to have Signature bring Unicorns to UK and Irish cinemas where we know audiences will enjoy our unique, timely, but above all entertaining film."

Signature Entertainment said in a statement: "We could immediately tell Unicorns was something special with Ben Hardy and Jason Patel’s notable chemistry, and we’re delighted to release this fearless and powerful romance to UK and Irish theatrical audiences later this year."

While there is not yet news of a UK release date, the film has already received a lot of praise from critics and debuted with 100% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The score is no longer perfect but remains strong at 92%.

ben hardy and jason patel
Leon Bennett - Getty Images

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Hardy played Peter Beale in EastEnders between 2013 and 2015, a role which is now played by Thomas Law since the character’s return to the BBC soap last year.

In September, Hardy explained why he decided to leave the soap after just 18 months, saying: "You’re trying to make it the best it can be, but it can leave you feeling a little unfulfilled because the nature of the beast is they have to produce so much material in such a short space of time."

Since then, Hardy has appeared in blockbusters such as X-Men: Apocalypse and Bohemian Rhapsody, and last year he starred in Netflix romcom Love at First Sight.

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