What a tangled TV web!
Showbiz land is agog over rumours that Crown star Matt Smith has split from Downton’s Lily James and is being comforted by... his on screen Queen Claire Foy
THEY shared a Royal romance as the young Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the first two series of The Crown.
And now close friends say that Claire Foy is providing a consoling shoulder for Matt Smith, whose relationship with his girlfriend, Downton Abbey actress Lily James, has been the subject of increasing talk among showbiz insiders.
The couple have been dating for five years but have not been seen together for months, although suggestions that they have broken up are no more than unconfirmed gossip.
Smith and Foy have formed a close and mutually supportive friendship, and have been spending time together near their different homes in North London in recent weeks, a source told The Mail on Sunday.
The two Crown stars recently appeared together on stage in an acclaimed production of Lungs at the Old Vic in London. The play, in which they portrayed husband and wife, required them to spend extensive time together in rehearsals and over three weeks of performances.
The friends seemed to revel in each other’s company at the opening night afterparty in October.
Speaking to Vogue as she promoted the climate-change drama, Ms Foy gushed of Smith: ‘To me, Matt is my friend and we acted together, as opposed to me seeing him as Prince Philip.
‘From the inside it makes sense, from the outside, maybe not. I think the most important thing is I want to be good for Matt – and, I presume, Matt wants to be good for me.’
Around the same time, onlookers said the two stars looked relaxed and happy in each other’s company as they strolled on the streets of London, on one occasion giggling as they shared jokes.
Meanwhile, Ms James has been enjoying a girls’ holiday in South Africa with her stylist friend Rebecca Corbin-Murray.
Describing each other as ‘posttraumatic stress disorder buddies’, the two women have documented their holiday on social media, posting from a variety of spectacular locations on a daily basis.
Ms James posted an image of her and Ms Murray at an animal sanctuary with the words ‘National Cheetahs’ garishly emblazoned on it – prompting commentators to suggest that she was making a mischievous response to the relationship rumours.
Ms James, now 30, fell for ex-Doctor Who star Smith in 2014 when they met on the set of the film Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.
But they have not been seen together in public since August, when they enjoyed a night out in Kentish Town with a friend who was visiting from America.
The friend posted pictures of Ms James dancing in the street, while Smith was seen joining the friend for a cigarette break under a bus shelter.
Ms James, who played Lady Rose MacClare in Downton, was absent from photos from Smith’s 37th birthday celebrations in October. The guests included the actor’s sister Laura, whom Ms James has called ‘my future sister-in-law’.
Ms James once vowed never to talk about Smith in public in case their romance ended in tears, saying: ‘If you’ve never said anything, there are no soundbites to haunt you when you’re crying into a box of Kleenex after it all goes wrong.’
Last week, Smith was seen visiting the gym and joined friends for a night out in West London.
Yesterday he was spotted enjoying a walk on Hampstead Heath with a male friend.
Ms Foy has been single since splitting from her actor husband Stephen Campbell Moore, the father of her daughter Ivy-Rose, in 2018.