DOWNTON Abbey star Hugh Bonneville’s new love interest liked 25 of his Instagram snaps — before he split from his wife.
Canadian actress Claire Rankin, 53, who has been on a string of dates with Hugh, 60, began poring over the actor’s web photos five years ago.
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She even gave the thumbs up to a snap of Hugh at King Charles’s coronation, taken two months before his marriage split.
At the time, he was wed to Lucinda “Lulu” Williams — said to be “really hurt” after The Sun on Sunday broke news of his romance last week.
Sources revealed Hugh told Lulu he was leaving to concentrate on his career she was surprised that he had moved on so soon with a new woman.
We can reveal Claire went on a spree of liking Hugh’s pictures, which began after her ex-husband wed British actress Kacey Clarke, who starred in comedy series The Inbetweeners.
Station 19 star Josh Randall, 52, married Claire in 2000 but divorced her 11 years later over “irreconcilable differences”.
Josh married Kacey, 36, who in 2014 was named by FHM as one of the sexiest women in the world, in a flash ceremony in Carmel-by-the-Sea in California in 2018.
Claire, who this month spent time at Hugh’s London pad, first liked a picture of the Downton favourite in May 2019.
The snap was of a brooding Hugh on the set of a play he starred in called Shadowlands, about famous writer C.S. Lewis.
One week later, she liked another of his promoting the play, and then one of him smiling backstage two days after.
The likes then became more frequent, including a thumbs up on pics of Hugh as Downton’s Earl of Grantham, photos of him on his travels, and modelling snaps.
She liked 13 of Hugh’s online posts in 2019.
Claire also liked a photo he had put online of himself at the King’s coronation concert in May last year posing with The Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog.
He wrote: “Life goals achieved.”
Hugh split from wife of 25 years Lulu, 55, just two months later.
Claire’s latest like was two days ago on a pic of Hugh with comedian Lenny Henry and film-maker Richard Curtis for Comic Relief.
But she has not mentioned the Bafta nominee on her own social media — other than a now-deleted picture of the pair.
We told last week he took Claire to a bash at Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Camilla and to dinner with one of his Downton Abbey co-stars when she was in London.
After she flew back to Canada, where she is starring in comedy series Son of a Critch, she shared an online picture of herself smiling in a selfie with the telly star, writing: “Until we meet again.”
But she later deleted the image after The Sun on Sunday contacted Hugh’s representatives.
Claire, who hails from a family of lobster fisherman on the remote Atlantic outpost Prince Edward Island, was described by pals as always “being destined for big things”.
Accountant David Jones, 64, who lives next-door to the humble family home, said: “I love Downton and I had no idea she was involved with him.
“It’s very rare that anyone from here makes it in the television world but she always seemed destined for big things.
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“She left here when she was 17 and is a nice girl.”
She wrote in her graduation book at her rural high school: “To all the Grads of ’87: Remember, if you can dream it, you can achieve it!”
Claire, a big fan of British period dramas, started her career on stage performing Shakespeare before moving to Hollywood where she won a role in sci-fi show Stargate Atlantis.
Close friend Glenda Landry, 72, said it was her divorce which made her move back to her native Canada.
She added: “Josh and Claire were married over a decade and they were the loveliest couple.
“But it didn’t work out between them and that’s why she moved back to Canada to reawaken her career.
“Claire didn’t marry and stay on the island. She left so her career could grow.”
Last October, The Sun on Sunday broke news of Hugh’s shock separation from wife Lulu.
They married in 1998 and renewed their vows five years ago in Las Vegas.
It is understood Lulu, who spent years at Hugh’s side on film sets, is heartbroken over the split.
Hugh has praised the vital role she has played in running their household and looking after their son Felix, now 20, while he starred in movies and TV shows.
He began his stage and screen career in the 1990s but has been best known since 2010 for his Downton Abbey role as as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham.
He received a Golden Globe nomination and two Emmy nods for his performance.
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