Lily James has learned just how much she values her female friendships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lily James

Lily James

The 32-year-old actress has grown close to her 'The Pursuit of Love' co-star Emily Beecham after filming the drama during lockdown, during which she reached out to all of her pals online, strengthening her bond with them all.

In an interview with Closer magazine, she said: "The endless Zooms we've had in lockdown have made us see what female friendship means to us and the impact on our lives. We all need each other. And 'The Pursuit of Love' is really about two girls and their friendship - they're soul mates. I think girl friendships can be the most vital in your life."

The BBC One series sees Lily as Linda Radlett and Emily as her best friend Fanny Logan, who set out to find their ideal husbands but get pulled apart as one settles for love and the other seeks something different from life.

However, Lily believes she has been both of the characters at a stage in her life when she has sought love and another time when she wanted something more.

She explained: "We all have Fanny and Linda within us - and at different points in your lives, you're more Fanny or Linda. That's what's so powerful about the story - both these women are deeply relatable. You don't have to be one or the other!"

What's more, the series was one of the first shows that returned to filming following the first lockdown in the UK and the cast had to stick to very strict guidelines on set.

She said: "We all had coloured bands that told us what group or bubble we were in. So, if anyone did go out of it, you'd be isolated. There were no scripts and we weren't allowed to touch anything someone else had touched. It was different with the actors, as we had to touch each other when filming. But it was very strict."


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