Belfast Telegraph, 21 February 2015
By Amanda Ferguson

Sir Kenneth Branagh has denied poster images for the movie 'Cinderella' were airbrushed to make the lead actress appear slimmer. The Belfast-born Disney film director says images of Lily James were not adjusted to make her waist look smaller than it is.

Social media users took to their keyboards to express their shock. "Good grief, what has happened to Lily James' waist?" on woman asked. Another wrote: "I have a problem with the fact that Cinderella is Photoshopped to have the tiniest waist I've ever seen."

But Sir Kenneth (54) has insisted there was no digital trickery employed, explaining the 25-year-old actress was simply wearing a well-constructed corset. "To all the airbrush conspiracy theorists I can answer now: no," he said. "I can't remember anybody during that ball sequence who went up next to her and didn't say 'Oh my god!' Then they'd look round the other side.

"I was constantly saying 'You are eating, aren't you Lily? Let's get Lily some soup please!' These gowns were beautifully crafted and they produced shapes that were very extreme."

Lily James, who is best known for playing Lady Rose MacClare in ITV period drama 'Downton Abbey', said she had to "squeeze to within an inch of my life" to get into the corset.

'Cinderella' will be screened in cinemas from next month.