Alert – Dominic West cosies up to lookalike daughters Martha, 26, and Dora, 18, as he celebrates his 55th birthday – after revealing how ‘ deeply stressful’ THAT kissing scandal with Lily James was for his family

Dominic West beamed as he cozied up to his lookalike daughters Martha and Dora while celebrating his 55th birthday last week.

The Crown actor, who shares his daughters with wife Catherine FitzGerald, appeared happier than ever, after revealing how pictures of him embracing co-star Lily James on a private jaunt in Rome in 2020 was ‘deeply stressful’ for his family.

Martha, 26, shared a snap of the family’s celebrations to her Instagram Stories as she and Dora, 18, wrapped their arms around their grinning father.

Singing Happy Birthday as they presented him with a cake, she captioned the video ‘cake and candles’.

Dominic and Catherine wed in 2010 and are also parents to eight-year-old Christabel and sons Senan, 16, and Francis, 13.

 Dominic West beamed as he cozied up to his lookalike daughters Martha (L) and Dora (R) while celebrating his 55th birthday last week

The married Crown actor appeared happier than ever, after revealing how pictures of him embracing co-star Lily James on a private jaunt in Rome in 2020 (pictured) was ‘deeply stressful’ for his family

Dominic and wife Catherine Fitzgerald wed in 2010 (pictured in 2019)

Following the snaps emerging, Dominic put on a public display of unity with his wife, with the couple releasing a statement about their marriage saying they were ‘very much still together’. 

Catherine was also said at the time to have banned Dominic from speaking with the Lily, 35, as part of a peace deal struck between the couple.

Speaking to The Sunday Times’ Culture Magazine, Dominic said: ‘I hesitate to speak on my wife’s behalf because it was obviously horrible, particularly for her.’

‘But we do joke about it sometimes… 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.’

Dominic surprised onlookers when he was pictured passionately embracing actress Lily during a romantic, mid-pandemic break, shortly after international travel restrictions were lifted.

The couple didn’t seem to mind who saw them as they cuddled up to one another and shared a ride on a scooter while taking in the sights throughout the day.

At the time he was still married to Catherine – and no split had been publicly announced – but he was not wearing his wedding ring.

A source told that the pair spent two nights in a suite at the top Hotel De La Ville with a panoramic view over the whole city and just at two minutes walk from the Spanish steps.

Following the snaps emerging, Dominic put on a public display of unity with his wife, with the couple releasing a statement about their marriage saying they were ‘very much still together’ (pictured 2015)

Dominic said: ‘I hesitate to speak on my wife’s behalf because it was obviously horrible, particularly for [My Wife]’ (pictured 2015)

They only left the hotel for a few hours riding an electric scooter around the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Pietra, before joining their friend and mutual manager Angharad Wood at a downtown restaurant.

As paparazzi photographers lurked, Lily sat next to Dominic and he couldn’t resist kissing her neck and stroking her. 

They were preparing to star in Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s celebrated novel The Pursuit Of Love for the BBC and filming began that July – three months before their surprise holiday.

But the pair go way back and starred in Othello together at Sheffield’s Crucible back in 2011. Lily played Desdemona when she was aged 22 and Dominic played Iago aged 41.

After pictures of them finally emerged, the versatile actor gave waiting reporters a surprisingly wooden performance as they gathered outside the sprawling Cotswolds home he shares with a bewildered looking FitzGerald and their children.

The shell-shocked mother-of-four had clutched a tissue in her hand as she gingerly stepped out of the marital home in Chippenham, Wiltshire with her husband by her side, hiding her ring finger in her jeans pocket.

The awkward tableau wasn’t helped by the couple’s bizarre decision to display a piece of paper bearing the handwritten message: ‘Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you.’

Dominic and Lily were preparing to star in Emily Mortimer’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s celebrated novel The Pursuit Of Love for the BBC and filming began that July

FitzGerald later broke her silence to assure that her marriage is safe.

She told reporters: ‘We’re fine, thank you very much, yes we are. Things are OK between us. We don’t need any advice from anyone, thank you.’

In 2022, Lily appeared to break her silence on her cosy outing with Dominic during an interview with Rolling Stone.

Speaking to the publication to promote her role in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, the actress admitted she sympathised with Pamela Anderson after finding herself in a similar ‘difficult situation.’

While Lily did not directly reference her outing with Dominic, she admitted that being under the same scrutiny as Pamela was ‘a lot.’

The star noted Pamela’s ‘brush with the gossip rags’, before sharing her own experience.

She said: ‘Women in the public eye at some point experience some sort of difficult situation in their relationship between privacy and your life being in the tabloids.

‘It was a lot. It’s a story as old as time.’

Lily had previously declined to discuss the media storm surrounding herself and Dominic, after the pair were pictured exploring Rome in October 2020.

When asked about being at the centre of such a storm during an interview with The Guardian, she said: ‘Ach, I’m not really willing to talk about that. There is a lot to say, but not now, I’m afraid.’