Was Lily ’s budget holiday a PR stunt?

Cinderella star lily James has made a song and dance about regaining her ‘sanity’ after the film’s whirlwind publicity tour by backpacking around South-east asia on a shoestring. But it seems that her riches-to-rags credentials may also be something of a fairy tale. ‘everything had been managed by other people for so long that i forgot how to do it myself,’ she said. ‘i ended up backpacking with a friend in South-east asia, staying in huts that were £2 a night.’

Oddly James, who shot to fame playing lady rose MacClare in downton abbey, omitted to mention that in June, she swapped her sarong for designer beachwear by ‘luxe bohemian’ brand Talitha and checked into the five- star Qualia resort on Hamilton island in Queensland, australia.

according to the actress’s holiday snaps on instagram, she and a friend — thought to be boyfriend Matt Smith, the former doctor Who actor — stayed in the $4,600-a-

night Beach House, complete with its own helicopter (pictured), 24-hour chauffeur service and an infinity pool overlooking the Great Barrier Reef.

‘A week in paradise,’ wrote James, who promoted the Qualia Resort and Hamilton Island in most of her 12 picture captions. I’m told the jaunt was set up by the PRs for the resort, who suggested the hotel to James’s agent as a ‘great place to stay’.

Aussie fixer Mark Sarian, who works with top hotels through his Babylon Lifestyle consultancy, also appears to have had a hand in the trip. He wrote: ‘Love the beach hut at Qualia. Hope you enjoyed the ten-course meal.’

Until recently, James boasted of living in a basement flat in Peckham that was so damp it had ‘mushrooms on the ceiling’.

So could a fairy godmother have given her some help with settling the hotel’s rather hefty bill?

‘That’s none of your business,’ says James’s agent, while a spokesman for Qualia declined to confirm whether the actress received a free stay in return for celebrity endorsement.

Talk about having a ball.