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Benedict Cumberbatch reads the winning letter from our Dear London competition

Letters Live

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Our competition-winning letter was performed live on stage by Benedict Cumberbatch at Letters Live at London's Royal Albert Hall in November 2025.

Letters Live partnered with the Times and Montblanc, to inspire writing through our Dear London competition, where we asked you to pen your own letters to London.⁠ Chosen from thousands of entries, the winner was Kerrin-Lee Nell.

© Kerrin-Lee Nell, 2025

20 Comments

@mclemlam 9 months ago (edited)

People always look at me like I am crazy when I say London is the love of my life, the two hands that keep me above water. I was never able to put into words what I was feeling. This letter.. every single sentence.. makes me cry bullets. It is as if Kerrin-Lee Nell looked into my soul and wrote it all down. "Because you're not just a place I've been. You're a part of me now". Thank you Kerrin-Lee. This is the most beautiful thing I have read in my life and I will write it down and hang it on my wall.

@markiliff 9 months ago

That was extraordinary! What a worthy winner.

@LindaDavis-kz2in 9 months ago

I left the UK in 1972 & have never felt homesick til I heard this ……….

@janinerichardsfink1903 9 months ago (edited)

I'm an American and have lived in many places .I left my heart and soul in London when I left .By far the best time of my life ! London I will forever be yours.

@bigredkite 9 months ago

40 years in Australia and I still get teary at the thought of a number 15 bus which would take me home. Love this, still love you London

@jonr6680 9 months ago

Very worthy winner. Covers a lot of ground, scans well & hits a lot of recognisable elements.

@suzymatwetwe 9 months ago

Wow, what a beautiful description of London. It's been decades since I was in London, but whilst listening to this letter, I was transported back as though I were there.

@lilianportela4 9 months ago

I love listening to this man; he brings me peace, love, and happiness, which is why I'm such a big fan❤❤

@petrae.2894 9 months ago

Congratulations to this beautiful and lively letter. So beautifully written🙏👍

@jford4031 9 months ago

Excellent. I went to London when I was 17 for a year to work and this letter describes it exactly. I still love London 40 years later.

@RaquelGronski-td9sv 9 months ago

Tears of Wow! I think this poem describes exactly why my soul loves London!

@adrianburn7178 9 months ago

What a wonderful ode to London. Brilliant!

@marnasorensen988 9 months ago

Brilliant letter!

@spmoran4703 3 weeks ago

I have never had a bad day in London. Its a great place.

@patrick3213-b8y 9 months ago

London really is an amazing city, and this comes from a new yorker.

@crypticxw 9 months ago

Superb. But dear youtube, Cockfosters is a suburb of London; no need to edit the subtitles to just say "Fosters"

@saurabhsircar1 9 months ago

Beautiful and vivid description of a glorious city with its own oddities. Oh, and, brilliantly read!

@PatriciaHFD 9 months ago

Beautiful letter. I fell in love with London the first time I visited the city. An unexpected love for me, and this letter remembered me why that happened. ❤