British actor Hugh Grant has publicly condemned the behaviour of an immigration officer at Heathrow Airport, describing their actions towards his children as “intrusive, insulting and creepy”.
The Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary star took to social media on Friday 4 April to express his outrage at how his family was treated upon arrival at the airport. Grant, 63, was travelling with his wife, Swedish television producer Anna Elisabet Eberstein, and their three children, aged 12, nine and seven.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Grant wrote: “Just came through Heathrow with wife and children. We all have the same last name (Grant) on our passports. Immigration officer engages my children in chit chat then whispers to them ‘Are these your Mum and Dad?’”
The actor, who was recently Bafta-nominated for his chilling performance in the 2024 horror film Heretic, labelled the encounter “intrusive, insulting and creepy”.
Grant, known for keeping his private life firmly out of the spotlight, did not disclose the destination of his family’s travel. However, his frustration was palpable as he called out what he clearly considered to be unnecessary and inappropriate questioning by the immigration official.
The question reportedly asked to the children—“Are these your Mum and Dad?”—is at the heart of Grant’s concern. Despite the fact that all family members shared the same surname and were travelling together with valid documentation, the Border Force officer reportedly took it upon themselves to question the children separately.
Grant and Eberstein, who married in 2018, share three children together. Grant also has two older children, aged 13 and 12, with his former partner Tinglan Hong. Despite his fame, Grant has long made it clear he values his family’s privacy and rarely speaks about his children in public.
While some have defended the officer’s actions as standard safeguarding procedure, Grant’s critique has reignited debate about the balance between security checks and family privacy at UK borders.
The Home Office’s own guidelines state that Border Force officers may ask adults a few questions to establish their relationship to a child, particularly in situations where the adult is not the child’s parent or if surnames differ. These checks are in place to help prevent child trafficking and abduction. However, the guidance also clearly instructs that such checks must be “sensitive to the interests of the child and the adult involved”.
Critics of the encounter say that questioning young children in a whisper, especially when there is no evident cause for concern, veers into the realm of inappropriate and can cause unnecessary alarm and confusion.
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Heathrow Airport has declined to comment, noting that immigration control is the responsibility of the UK Border Force, which operates under the Home Office. A spokesperson for the Home Office stated: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, Border Force officers are trained to carry out checks with sensitivity and discretion, especially when it involves minors.”
Public response to Grant’s post has been mixed. Some social media users expressed support, saying the actor had every right to feel upset at what they described as an overreach of authority. Others defended the officer’s conduct, citing the importance of vigilance in safeguarding children.
One user responded: “Completely understand your frustration, Hugh. But sadly, these questions are sometimes necessary to protect vulnerable children.”
Another wrote: “Heathrow staff should know better than to whisper strange questions to kids. Completely inappropriate regardless of policy.”
As of now, Grant has not indicated whether he plans to file a formal complaint. But his account has certainly sparked fresh discussion around how border procedures are carried out—and whether respect for families and common sense are being lost in the name of protocol.
