VIRGIN TRAINS TO(I)LET WILL FERRELL LOO-SE WITH ONBOARD TOILET ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Hollywood star, Will Ferrell, has recorded some special toilet announcements for Virgin Trains on the West Coast this festive season
• In celebration of the new festive blockbuster, Daddy’s Home 2, Will Ferrell will be offering some light-hearted advice for unassuming passengers

Virgin Trains’ passengers may be accustomed to advice not to flush their ex’s sweater, hopes, dreams or goldfish down the toilet, but when they pop to the on-board loo this festive season, they could be greeted with advice from an unexpected A-lister.

To celebrate the release of new Christmas comedy, Daddy’s Home 2, on the 22^nd November, Virgin Trains on the West Coast has collaborated with Hollywood funnyman Will Ferrell to treat its passengers to some real toilet humour.

Ferrell will be on hand on selected Pendolino trains across the route to remind passengers to press the lock button of the toilet door to avoid the dreaded ‘slow reveal’, and encourage them to make the most of their journey by downloading Virgin Trains’ entertainment app, BEAM, which offers hundreds of hours of movies, TV, boxsets, magazines and games.

To coincide with the release of Daddy’s Home 2 in cinemas on November 22, customers travelling with Virgin Trains on the West Coast throughout November and December can watch Daddy’s Home, the original family comedy starring Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg, completely free on BEAM.

Adrian Varma, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Virgin Trains on the West Coast, said: “We’re really excited to be working with Will Ferrell on Daddy’s Home 2, and to be playing the hilarious Daddy’s Home on BEAM throughout the festive period. Christmas is a busy time of year as our passengers tackle their Christmas shopping and travel home to enjoy the break with family and loved ones. We hope Will’s messages will help spread a little festive cheer to everyone travelling with Virgin Trains this Christmas.”

Will Ferrell’s on-board toilet announcements will be playing on selected Pendolino trains from 16^th November to 31^st December 2017. Daddy’s Home is showing on BEAM from November 1 until December 31, 2017. Daddy’s Home 2 is released nationwide by Paramount Pictures on Wednesday November 22, 2017.

ENDS

About BEAM:

BEAM, Virgin Trains’ free onboard entertainment service, is available from the Apple and Android app stores. The App is free to download and free to use onboard, with passengers able to watch hundreds of hours of movies and TV, along with being able to read top weekly and monthly magazines and play games. During the festive period BEAM will be showing a great selection of Christmas movies, including Daddy’s Home, Home Alone, Bad Santa, the Polar Express and Ghostbusters.

About Virgin Trains:

Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the East Coast and West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains brand. Together, they are on track to revolutionise rail travel across the UK.

The combined network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.

Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Passengers consistently rate Virgin Trains as one of the top long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.

On the East Coast route, £140m is being invested to create a more personalised travel experience. We have already invested £21m to completely revamp our existing fleet and passengers can now benefit from 42 additional services (22,000 extra seats) per week between Edinburgh and London. 2018 will see the introduction of completely new Azuma trains being built in the UK by Hitachi.

The West Coast route has a proud record of challenging the status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.

Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room - http://mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk - for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news from Virgin Trains.

Press Office: 0845 000 3333. Company website: www.virgintrains.co.uk.

About Daddy’s Home 2:

Father and stepfather Dusty and Brad join forces to make Christmastime perfect for the children. Their newfound partnership soon gets put to the test when Dusty's old-school, macho dad and Brad's gentle father arrive to turn the holiday upside down. After a sudden change in plans, the four men decide to take the kids to a luxury resort for a fun-filled getaway that turns into a hilariously chaotic adventure.