'The Pursuit of Love' viewers cringe as Dominic West threatens to 'spank' Lily James

"The Pursuit of Love" viewers were left cringing in their seats as Lily James and Dominic West played father and daughter in the series, given their publicised affair last year.

The BBC drama premiered Sunday night to some awkward reactions, especially after one scene had the actor threatening to spank his co-star. "The Affair" star plays Matthew Radlett opposite James' Linda Radlett in the show.

In the scene, an enraged Matthew screams at his daughter after he found out that she had sneaked away with her cousin, Fanny Logan, so she could spend time with a boy that he did not approve of. Linda tried to defend herself and spoke highly of the man.

"He travels abroad and reads books. He's sophisticated," she argued.

But her father is too angry to listen. Instead, he warned her that she will be watched every minute of the day moving forward following her escapade. Matthew also threatened to give Linda "a good thrashing" before he sent her to her room.

The tense scene was powerful but it prompted a different reaction from viewers who found the two actors' interaction "weird" and creepy. They found it uncomfortable due to their real-life relationship.

"Oh. He was playing Lily James' dad. Not awkward, not awkward at all," one viewer tweeted.

"Didn't know Dominic played Lily's dad. Feels a bit weird," another noted and one more wrote, "Bit weird the whole Lily James and Dominic West thing when he's playing her Dad in The Pursuit of Love."

One viewer joked, "Dominic West wanting to give Lily James a damn good thrashing there - not sure if that was in the script or just ad-libbed."

"Can't really get past the whole Lily James and Dominic West thing given that they play father and daughter #ThePursuitOfLove," another added while one asked, "Are we all watching pursuit of love to see the sexual tension between Lily James and Dominic West..."

Viewers apparently cannot get images of James and West kissing in Rome out of their minds while they watched "The Pursuit of Love." The co-stars made headlines last year after photos of their PDA-filled romantic getaway leaked and threatened to destroy the actor's marriage to Catherine FitzGerald.