‘That’s what’s working for me,’ says Daphne, as close as she’s got to admitting that things with Brad are over. She hasn’t once brought up his departure, or any of the reasons why, and Duke knows she’s ashamed, somehow, but he feels like he can’t tell her not to be without bringing it up, and he knows Daphne well enough to understand that that’s not a great idea. So instead, he’s sitting back as she figures it out for herself, running wild and free on set, and he can see how it makes her feel good, how much she’s been in her element these past few days.

‘Who’d have thought when we signed on for this that this is where we’d end up?’ Duke asks, as the car pulls up to set. ‘We’ve gone from a couple on the rocks to friends running the damned show. That’s impressive, I think. We need to take a moment to appreciate all this.’

Daphne smiles. ‘Life, huh?’ she says. ‘It’ll catch up to ya in the end.’

‘Won’t it just.’ Duke sighs.

It’s his American publicist who tells him the news when it comes: Duke has been nominated for a Golden Globe.

‘What?’ he says, as Dream, one of the content producers, holds out a phone for him. Being so close to Christmas, and awards season, and because he insisted it was just a short shoot for the external shots, there’s nobody from Duke’s team out in Germany with him. It would have felt extra, needless. For most people December is a time to start winding down and planning how to spend the holidays with loved ones. Duke normally flies out to Bermuda and stays with Simon Cowell and his family, or else does Bora Bora, coming back in time for new year skiing or just after, ready to walk the red carpets – normally as a presenter or plus-one, though. He’s had a few nominations for smaller awards in categories he’d been briefed he’d never win, and things he’s been in have won awards for direction and the like, but a Golden Globe has always been the goal. Now it’s here, though, and happening, it hits differently.

He just feels empty, uninterested.

‘Best supporting actor,’ his publicist says. ‘And we think you’re in with a really good shot. We’re already talking to Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal magazine about some in-depth profiles with you, positioning this as a turning point in your career that people need to be taking note of. The relationship with the author – it’s really helped your credibility, man. Actors dating actors is so Nineties. An actor dating an author makes your brand more prestigious, my man. We’re going to exploit that.’