George & Amal TENSION IN ST TROPEZ!

THE STARS' ROMANTIC GETAWAY DIDN'T QUITE GO TO PLAN...

There's nothing like the French Riviera to put a smile on George Clooney's face, and sunning it up in Saint-Tropez with his family seemed like the perfect holiday escape.

Unfortunately, not everything played out as hoped during George and wife Amal's holiday last month.

On December 14, the couple were spotted looking tense on one of the few days they had without their seven-year-old twins Ella and Alexander in tow.

“Neither of them looked happy,” says onlooker tells New Idea exclusively. “As soon as they realised they were being photographed, he reached for her, but it did look like they’d had some kind of issue between them.”

Friends say the couple are facing a difficult start to the new year, with George, 63, treading the boards on Broadway in New York while Amal, 46, stays in Europe with the children.