Dominic West has revealed that pictures of him kissing actress Lily James being published in the press “informed” how he portrayed Prince Charles in The Crown.

In October 2020, co-stars James and West were photographed embracing while they were in Rome.

West, 54, who is married, now says the ensuing tabloid imbroglio helped him play the role of Charles, while he was Prince of Wales, in The Crown.

The actor told The Times: “I’d had a very acute understanding of what it’s like to feel the horror of your name or your photo in the newspapers.

“There is that dreadful, freezing moment when something is revealed about you. I think anyone can understand how that feels.

“But I’d been through it, and it must have informed how I approached it. That gut feeling of horror isn’t something you get inured to.”

During his stint as Charles, he played some of the most controversial moments of his life, including his divorce from Princess Diana, her death and his relationship with now Queen, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Following the pictures being published, West and his wife Catherine Fitzgerald released a statement about their marriage, describing themselves as “very much still together”.

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Fitzgerald was also said at the time to have banned West from speaking with the actress, who first shot to fame for her role in Downton Abbey.

James, 35, and West were together in the Italian capital amid the filming of an adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.

West played the now King in two seasons of The Crown opposite Elizabeth Debicki’s Princess Diana and Olivia Williams Camilla Parker Bowles.

He has been nominated for a Best Leading Actor TV BAFTA for his portrayal, with the ceremony set to go ahead on 28 April.

Warwick Davis’ children have reassured fans after they raised concerns about a post on his social media days after the news of the death of his wife.

The 54-year-old Harry Potter star announced last week that his wife of 35 years, Samantha Davis, had died.

The actor caused concern among fans after a late-night social media post on Sunday in which he told his 662,000 Twitter followers: “I’m done here, Sgning off [sic],” followed by a broken heart emoji

The couple’s two children – Annabelle and Harrison – updated their father’s post an hour later.

They wrote: “Thank you everyone for looking out for our Dad, he is taking some time away from social media. He apologises if his last message caused anyone concern. We appreciate all of your love and support, Annabelle and Harrison x”.

Samantha Davis, who was also an actress, co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside he husband.

Davis announced news of her death last week, revealing she had died on 24 March in a statement to the BBC.

“Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs,” he said.

“She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.”

He added that she was his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”.

The couple met on the set of George Lucas’s film Willow and married three years later in 1991.

Their two children together, Annabelle and Harrison, also paid tribute to their mother, saying: “Her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives.

“Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers.”

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Samantha’s agency, Little People, also shared a statement, calling her passion for supporting members of the community “unmatched,” and pledging to “continue her legacy for a long time to come”.

They added: “Not only was Sammy a passionate advocate for the community, she was a friend to many, with a listening ear at any time and an endless positive spirit, we know this is going to be a huge loss to everyone and we want you to know we will be here to support.”

Davis’ last post on Instagram, shared last October, was a picture of the couple smiling ahead of a night out, with the jokey message: “A long overdue date night with my beautiful wife. She felt a bit overdressed for McDonald’s!”

The actor starred as the titular hero Willow Ufgood in the 1988 original film Willow and reprised the role for the 2022 sequel.

He played three different roles across all eight of the Harry Potter films – a Gringotts bank employee, Professor Filius Flitwick, the charms teacher, and Griphook, a Gringotts goblin.

Davis also played several characters in the Star Wars film series.

Samantha played a goblin in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and had an uncredited role in Willow, through which she first met Warwick.

Actor Kevin Bacon has returned to the US high school where his movie Footloose was filmed more than 40 years ago.

The 65-year-old visited Payson High School in the state of Utah to greet students following a years-long campaign which started on social media under the hashtag #BaconToPayson.

According to news reports last month, the school had gone Footloose-crazy – holding a Footloose movie night, staging a Footloose musical, renaming the annual Mr Payson pageant after the actor, and even holding a competition for essays persuading Bacon to visit.

The mission turned into a community-wide campaign to partner with the actor’s charity, with students helping to put together 5,000 care packages for SixDegrees.

And on Saturday, the actor came to help about 700 students and 300 community members fill the care packages.

“You talked me into it,” he said to the students.

“It’s great to see that kind of commitment to anything.

“I also think that it’s amazing to see the power that this movie has had to bring people together.”

In March, when he accepted the invitation to visit, he said: “I have been so impressed with everything that has been going on there with this crazy idea to get me back, so thank you, thank you, and I’m gonna come. I gotta come.”

In Footloose, Bacon played a teenager from Chicago who moved to a small town and fought its ban on dancing.

The town of Payson, about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City, was the film’s setting.

Some of its 21,000 residents remember being extras and can point out parts of the town used in the film.

At the end of the day, Payson High School students held their prom.

It is likely to be the last prom at the school before its outdated buildings are torn down next year.

The theme of the prom? Footloose, of course.