Dame Emma Thompson turned down a date with US President Donald Trump

Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Emma explained: "[The phone rang and] it was Donald Trump. He said: 'Hello, this is Donald Trump.'

"I thought it was a joke and asked: 'How can I help you?' Maybe he needed directions from someone.

"Then he said: 'I'd love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.' I said: 'Well, that's very sweet. Thank you so much. I'll get back to you'."

Emma went on to reveal the phone call came on the same day her divorce from Kenneth Branagh was finalised back in 1995 and she's convinced Trump must have had a team of people looking for suitable women he could take out.

The screen star added: "I realised that on that day, my divorce decree had come through. And I bet he's got people looking for suitable people he could take out on his arm. You know, a nice divorcee, that's what he was looking for."

Emma went on to joke: "And he found the number in my trailer. I mean, that's stalking ... I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump, and then I would have a story to tell. I could have changed the course of American history."

Speaking during a talk at the film festival, Emma went on to approach the subject of her 2003 rom-com Love Actually and admitted she's amazed by the film's lasting popularity.

She said: "I mean, it's honestly a constant source of astonishment to me that that film lasted, not that I don't like the film. I like it very much, but it's weird."

Emma added of the heartbreaking scene in which her character breaks down after discovering her husband had been unfaithful: "It touched a nerve because we get a heartbreak, especially women, we have to hide it because we don't want people to see it."