Dominic West is finally able to see the funny side of the Lily James pictures which mired him in scandal.

The 54-year-old actor was photographed cuddling his 'The Pursuit Of Love' co-star Lily, 35, while they were sightseeing in Rome, Italy in October 2020 without his wife Catherine FitzGerald and he's now admitted the couple can joke about the "absurd situation".

He told The Times newspaper: "I hesitate to speak on my wife’s behalf because it was obviously horrible, particularly for her. But we do joke about it sometimes.

"Whenever we went out together, the papers would always say we were ‘putting on a show of unity’. Even if we’d just been rowing about parking the car or whatever, even if that couldn’t be further from the truth. And so when we go out we do sort of say, ‘Shall we go and have a show of unity up in London?'"

West - who is dad to two sons with FitzGerald - added: "It was an absurd situation. It was deeply stressful for my wife and my kids, but there were lighter moments. That was the best that came out of it, really."

After the pictures were published, West and his wife posed for photographs together outside their home and held up a sign which read: "Our marriage is strong and we're very much still together. Thank you. Catherine and Dominic."

In The Times interview, Dominic insisted the furore helped give him an understanding of how to play King Charles in 'The Crown' because the royal found himself at the centre of so many headline-grabbing stories over the years.

West went on to say: "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 [the role of Charles]. That gut feeling of horror isn't something you get inured to."