TALK OF THE TOWN: The tangled web of Lily James and Matt Smith, Part 2

TALK OF THE TOWN: The tangled web of the love lives of Lily James and Matt Smith returns for a second week and now involves Mamma Mia hunk Josh Dylan

My astonishing tale last week of a tangled TV web left the showbiz world agog.

And, remarkably, I can now report that there is yet another riveting twist in the love lives of Matt Smith and Lily James.

Last week I reported that The Crown star Matt, 37, and Downton actress Lily, 30, were fighting off persistent rumours of a split amid whispers he was being comforted by his close friend – and The Crown co-star – Claire Foy.

Lily James, left, has formed a close bond with Mamma Mia co-star Josh Dylan, right

Last week I reported that The Crown star Matt, 37, and Downton actress Lily, 30, were fighting off persistent rumours of a split amid whispers he was being comforted by his close friend ¿ and The Crown co-star ¿ Claire Foy

Last week I reported that The Crown star Matt, 37, and Downton actress Lily, 30, were fighting off persistent rumours of a split amid whispers he was being comforted by his close friend – and The Crown co-star – Claire Foy

Lily and Josh first met on the set of the hit movie Mamma Mia, pictured

Lily and Josh first met on the set of the hit movie Mamma Mia, pictured 

Josh Dylan and Lily James look especially cosy in this Instagram picture

Josh Dylan and Lily James look especially cosy in this Instagram picture

Now I hear that Lily has a friend of her own she may wish to seek solace with.

He is Josh Dylan, her co-star in smash-hit movie Mamma Mia 2. The pair formed a close bond back in 2017 when they filmed together over 24 days on the idyllic island of Vis in Croatia.

Just as Matt and Claire, 35, starred as husband and wife in The Crown – he as Prince Philip, she as the young Queen – Lily and Josh played romantic partners in Mamma Mia – Young Donna and Young Bill.

And their on-screen chemistry also spilled over into real life, as my pictures, taken at the time, show. In fact, so close did Lily and Josh become that Matt was said to have flown to Croatia, perhaps fearing that the plot of the film, in which Lily’s character sleeps with Josh’s character on a boat, would be replayed for real. A source tells me: ‘Matt flew straight there to make sure everything was OK.’

Lily put Matt’s mind at ease but, if she is single again, friends believe Josh would be the obvious man to turn to for consolation.

Lily certainly looks much happier in my snaps of her larking about with Josh than she did last week when she was pictured during a reportedly strained meeting with Matt at a North London pub – their first public outing for four months.

It came a day after this paper reported how Lily had prompted more speculation by posting a bizarre picture headlined ‘National Cheetahs’ on Instagram. 

Fears for TV legend

Sorry  to see that radio legend Nicholas Parsons missed out on his daughter Suzy’s charity carol service in Chelsea Old Church last week – for the first time in years.

Nicholas, 96, gives a touching reading every year to support his beloved daughter and her work for the Dogs Trust charity’s Hope Project, which offers free emergency vet care for dogs belonging to the homeless. 

Poor Nicholas wasn’t feeling well enough to attend and friends fear he may be gravely ill – it certainly would take something very serious for him to miss the event. 

A fall saw him pull out of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer. I’ve known Nicholas all my life, so, like many others, I will be praying for his recovery this Christmas.

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk