HURL’S WORLD
Sharing clothes, bikini shoots and filming THAT racy film scene – inside Damian Hurley and mum Liz’s close relationship
The mum and son have weathered family tragedies together and claim to have a telepathic connection
MOST children would find watching a sex scene with their parents a cringe-worthy experience that leaves them longing to hide behind sofa cushions.
But Damian Hurley has gone one better - and directed his world-famous mum Elizabeth engaging in racy lesbian sex scenes for his debut film, Strictly Confidential.
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The flick, which is out in cinemas this month, sees the 58-year-old snogging and being pawed at by her 20-something lover, played by Pear Chirava.
Far from finding the saucy scenes uncomfortable to direct, 21-year-old Damian told The Times: “I hate to say that it felt totally normal. I don’t know what that says about us.”
He revealed there were no intimacy coordinators on set because “everyone was very comfortable” and he was chuffed that his mum took on such a raunchy role.
“I don’t think she has ever been cast in a sexier part at this point in her career,” Damian added.
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The admission surprised many but it’s far from the first time the mother-son duo’s incredibly close relationship has come under the spotlight.
Back in 2018, Liz shocked fans when it was revealed that her son took ‘sexy’ pictures of her in a bikini for her Instagram account when he was just 15 years old.
She hit back at critics, who felt it was inappropriate, insisting he’s “really good at it” and put her at ease while taking the saucy snaps.
“When we’re on holiday together, sure he’ll take some pictures,” Liz said while appearing on Watch What Happens Live After Show.
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“And you know, he’s got a really good eye and he’s studying photography and it’s ridiculous.”
Liz praised her son again this year, telling The Telegraph that being photographed by him made her feel more comfortable.
Elizabeth Hurley, 58, strips off for steamy same-sex love scene in new movie - directed by her SON
She said: “Who likes being photographed in bikinis? No one, even when you’re 22 and fabulous… but it’s relaxing knowing someone’s behind the camera who looks out for me.”
Damian, who called it "just business", believes the pair working together in this way is only unusual to those who have not grown up in the public gaze.
“I was speaking to a lot of my friends who are also second-generation of parents in the industry,” says Damian, who counts Brooklyn Beckham, Kate Moss's daughter Lila and Jude Law's daughter Iris among his pals.
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“They say exactly the same thing, that things to outsiders that may seem totally strange and extraordinary, for us we’ll just have grown up with in everyday life.”
‘Like siblings’
Life has rarely been normal for Damian, who followed in his mother’s footsteps and bagged his first modelling job at the age of 15.
During one of those early gigs, he worked with “old family friend” Naomi Campbell.
When he made his first short film, he persuaded his godfather Hugh Grant to star - in a bald skull cap.
And growing up around A-list pals like the Beckhams and his other godfather, Sir Elton John, was just the way it was.
Mum filled the role of 800 parents at the same time
Damian Hurley
"Our parents love to say that Brooklyn Beckham and I were caught raiding and trying on our godfather Elton John's sunglasses when we were extremely young," he has said.
As a teenager, Damian benefitted from his mum's fame, starring alongside her in three episodes of the 2015 US soap drama, The Royals.
Throughout that time, they remained incredibly close and often shared gushing posts online celebrating each other’s successes.
Recently, the director described Liz as his “partner in crime” and in interviews has said they are more “like siblings”.
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Family tragedies
Damian attributes their closeness to the difficulties they have faced together including challenges with his father Steve Bing – who initially denied being his paternity and was absent for much of his son's life.
“Mum filled the role of 800 parents at the same time. We are so close. Sometimes like siblings," Damian said.
Businessman Steve, who died from suicide in 2020, dated Liz for a year until 2001 but when she became pregnant, he suggested she had been unfaithful.
Later, he offered a staggering £1.8million in child support payments – £100,000 per month – after a DNA test proved he was the father but Liz refused to accept the money.
When he died, the pair were said to be devastated that Damian was cut out of the will, but the tragedy brought them closer.
A year after Bing's death Damian opened up about his grief, saying: "A year ago today, my mother and I received some devastating news. I didn't realise at the time quite how much it would affect me.
I steal leather [her] trousers all the time when we’re the same size. Jackets are always great. Any big, oversized blazers she steals in a heartbeat
Damian Hurley
"The last year has been bloody hard - for everyone on the planet- and I think acknowledging that is vital. It's not weak to struggle.
"In fact, to get through to the other side is immensely strong."
The model, who revealed he had met his father several times before his death, had previously praised father figures including celebrity godfathers Hugh and Sir Elton for helping to raise him.
Damian was also haunted by the loss of Liz’s former fiancé, the late cricketer Shane Warne, who died from a sudden heart attack at the age of 52 while visiting Thailand in 2022.
The couple were together between 2010 and 2013, and the sportsman and Damian became very close during that time.
"He was a father figure to me for most of my formative years and was truly one the best men I've ever known,” Damian said.
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He said Shane's passing was “unequivocally a tragedy”.
Recalling how he felt, he added: “There was no confusion or anger. It was just grief and horrific.”
Meanwhile, it was “a very different process” when his biological father died two years earlier with Damian admitting there was “immense grief, a lot of regret, anger [and] sadness”.
Speaking of Liz’s support during those difficult times, he said: “My mum has been a phenomenal constant for my entire life, but really in the past few years. I can’t put it into words.”
'Relationship cautiousness'
Damian was linked to Millie Griffiths, an artist and former school friend, after being photographed together in Portofino, Italy, in 2022.
However, he kept quiet about the romance – never addressing nor confirming speculation that they were an item.
The model revealed his mum was always “very, very, very cautious” about introducing him to lovers until the relationships were serious.
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And it seems Damian is the same, telling The Times that he has started seeing someone new but the mystery individual has yet to be introduced to his mum.
He said: “If I like them she probably will too. God I hope so.”
'Extremely alike'
Having both worked in fashion, the mother and son have a lot in common and Damian recently admitted they borrow each other's clothing.
He said: “I steal leather [her] trousers all the time when we’re the same size. Jackets are always great. Any big, oversized blazers she steals in a heartbeat.”
The 21-year-old says they are “extraordinarily alike” in general and “apart from having the same face, we are really, really in tune”.
Their bond was further strengthened while working together on Damian’s directorial debut Strictly Confidential.
After writing the script during lockdown, he realised the main character - a "glamorous, glorious woman" - had to be played by his mother.
It led Damian to cash in on a promise Liz made to him when he was eight years old.
Liz told Access Hollywood: “As a young kid he was making short movies the whole time, bullying me, friends, family to be in his baby films.
“He always said, ‘If I ever get to make a real film will you be in it?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, your first film I will definitely be in’.
"Of course, for all I knew he could have ended up being a physicist or something but he didn’t he stayed in the business and he called me on it.
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“He said, ‘You know that script that I’ve been writing in my bedroom during lockdown, I can make it Mum,' so of course I was in it.”
Damian says filming over 18 days in the Caribbean was “terrifying” - claiming he lost 20lbs through stress - but thankfully he had his mother there for support.
Similarly, Liz found comfort in knowing that he son was at the helm while directing her in scenes many would find uncomfortable.
She said: “The things that his script needed me to do weren’t necessarily things I’d done in movies many times before.
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“But having him there meant that I felt safe and looked after, and I knew, in the production and in the post, he’d look after me.
“So actually it’s kind of liberating to work with your family, I may do it again.”