Lily in the limelight ‘I'M NO LONGER IN DAD'S SHADOW'

It’s taken time, but the actress and Phil now have a groovy kind of love

- Judy Kean

They haven’t always had the best of relationships. But any issues between music legend Phil Collins and his daughter Lily Collins are clearly well and truly in the past judging by a loving message the actress left for her dad on his 71st birthday last month.

The Emily in Paris star wrote on Instagram, “I may no longer fit in your arms or sit comfortably on your shoulders, but you continue to hug me tightly when I need it most… I will always need you.”

She went on to say that she was grateful for moments and memories they shared, from proudly watching the In the Air Tonight singer on stage through to playing Trivial Pursuit. “Thank you for inspiring me and supporting the woman I am today. I love you to the moon and back again.”

Lily, 32, has previously admitted that her relationship with her dad was complicated when she was younger. Phil divorced her mum, American architect Jill Tavelman, 65, when Lily was five, and she and her mother moved from the family home in the English countryside to Los Angeles. There were rumours that Phil’s union with Jill – his second marriage – fell apart because he was unfaithful.

Lily only saw her dad sporadically and always tried to be on her best behaviour when she did. “Because my dad was often gone, I never wanted to do anything that would make him stay away even longer,” she wrote in a collection of personal essays, published in the book Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me.