Colin Firth appears in great spirits as he visits art exhibition with a female friend

Colin Firth appeared in great spirits as he visited an art exhibition with a female friend in London on Saturday afternoon.

The award-winning screen star, 59, kept warm as he strolled along the streets of the English capital alongside his pal, who he hugged before parting ways. 

In December, the actor and his now-estranged wife Livia, 50, shocked fans when they announced they were ending their 22-year marriage, but the couple have since proven they’re friendly exes as they’ve reunited for a series of business project.

Wrapping up against the chilly climes of the capital, the Kingsman: The Secret Service star sported a navy padded jacket, teamed with a matching cardigan, a buttoned T-shirt and straight-leg jeans.

The thespian rounded off his casual outfit with a pair of black trainers and a grey flat cap as he enjoyed some downtime from filming his new World War II drama Operation Mincemeat.

Colin’s upcoming film, directed by John Madden, will present the true story a British deception operation that helped to disguise the 1943 Allied Invasion of Sicily.

Late last year, the TV and film star confirmed the news of his divorce in a statement, where he insisted he would maintain a ‘close friendship’ with Livia. 

A statement from their publicists said: ‘Colin and Livia Firth have separated. They maintain a close friendship and remain united in their love for their children. They kindly ask for privacy. There will be no further comment’.

The pair, who share two sons, Luca, 18, and Matteo, 16, have proven to remain amicable as they celebrated New Year’s Day together and teamed up to host a special screening of The Great Hack in January.

Their split comes after it was revealed in March 2018 that film producer Livia was alleged to have had a year-long affair with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia.

She sparked a police investigation after claiming her childhood friend Marco harassed her with a ‘frightening’ barrage of messages.

The Oscar-winner is believed to have confronted his long-term partner over a ‘heartbreaking and malicious’ email from her ex-lover in. 

The message contained revelations ‘designed to wound’ the King’s Speech star – who has maintained a dignified silence over the affair.

At the time, a source close to Colin told MailOnline: ‘This guy Marco basically told Colin everything he had been doing with his wife for a year. The email was a detailed diatribe, humiliated Colin and was designed with no other motive than to wound.

‘He described intimate meetings that would devastate any husband – no matter what the state of their marriage. And he did so with the misguided and hopeless belief he could destabilise the efforts being made by Colin and Livia to sort things out.

‘Colin presented this to his wife and in what must have been a very difficult confrontation. But he is the man that he is and has maintained his dignity throughout.’