Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend film Netflix series Anatomy Of A Scandal on the Sussex coast

At first glance, it could be any good-looking family enjoying a day out by the sea.

But a closer look reveals it is Hollywood stars Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend strolling on an East Sussex beach with two child actors.

They were pictured shooting the eagerly anticipated Netflix series Anatomy Of A Scandal, based on the acclaimed 2018 bestseller by former political journalist Sarah Vaughan.

And while the photos show the youngsters squealing with delight, the happy scene is in stark contrast to the serious plot of the drama, which revolves around Friend’s character – junior Government Minister James Whitehouse – being accused of raping a political aide with whom he had been having an affair. Miller plays his wife, Sophie.

In real life, 39-year-old Friend, who previously dated Keira Knightley after meeting her on the set of Pride & Prejudice, is married to American athlete-turned-actress Aimee Mullins. 

Miller’s love life has been somewhat more turbulent – she split from her fiance, Lucas Zwirner, last month.

The 39-year-old was previously in a relationship with Tom Sturridge, the father of her eight-year-old daughter Marlowe, and was engaged to Jude Law until they parted over his affair with nanny Daisy Wright.

The cast of the six-part series, which Netflix describes as ‘an insightful and suspenseful series about sexual consent and privilege’, also includes Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery as the high-flying prosecutor. 

It is being directed by David E. Kelley, the man behind the new Sky drama The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.