Michelle Keegan posted rare picture with her one-year-old daughter Palma after her mother-in-law Carol Wright dismissed claims of tension between them.

Following reports that Carol was the 'mother in law from hell',  Michelle, 38, took to Instagram on Thursday to upload a sweet selfie of herself, her mother Jacqueline and daughter all wearing matching pyjamas ahead of Mother's Day. 

She wrote: '2 mummy's and a baby. How cuuuuute are these pjs from my @veryuk collection??? Perfect for Mother's Day to match all the generations' (sic).

It was claimed that Carol throws 'subtle digs' at Michelle, but she has since shut down speculation of tension between her and Michelle, who is married to her son Mark.

The rumours claim to light after she shared a series of 'terribly timed' comments about women in bikinis on her family podcast, which horrified fans.

The 65-year-old suffered furious social media backlash for claiming thong bikinis and those who wear them are 'gross and unattractive' during a recent instalment of Wright At Home, the podcast she hosts with daughters Jess and Natalya.

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Jess and her younger sister, who both agreed with their mother, have since apologised, while the clip - branded 'degrading and disrespectful' by listeners - has been hastily removed from their social media channels. 

But friends claimed the comments were a thinly veiled dig at Michelle who manages her own Orfila Bee swimwear range and typically fills her Instagram platform with bikini content. 

A source told The Sun: 'To put it bluntly, Carol is the textbook mother-in-law from hell. She is completely obsessed with her sons and is your stereotypical possessive boy mum.

'The tension between Carol and Michelle is very subtle. Carol thinks she's having a subtle dig, but Michelle sees straight through her, and everything is noted.' 

But representatives have since refuted allegations of tension, and insist Carol has a 'close, supportive relationship' with Michelle. 

Despite being removed, the clip has found its way onto TikTok - where listeners have reacted furiously to the discussion, during which Jess claimed her husband Will 'hates' thong bikinis, while Carol said husband Mark Sr finds them 'unsexy'.

Jess, Natalya and Carol launched Wright At Home in November last year, and while the show has gained mild traction since its launch, the bikini discussion has stormed TikTok - despite the minds behind the Instagram page removing the clip.

The discussion began with Jess, who claimed: 'I can't stand how it's acceptable to walk around on the beach in a thong.'

Natalya added: 'Do you know what's worse, these girls who do wear them, fair enough if you're gonna wear them, at least if you're gonna bend over and put your towel over your bed, put a sarong on!'

Joining the conversation, Carol said: 'I really do think this is not sexy for men to look at.'

The family matriarch then regaled a story from a holiday with her husband, who she revealed weighed in on the look of three women with varied figures.

She said: 'Me and daddy was walking along the promenade and there were three girls in front of us and they were all different shapes and sizes but they had their whole arses out and daddy was looking and he said: 'It doesn't even look sexy'.'

Many social media users shared throwback images of Jess in barely-there bikinis - many of which showed much of her bottom due to the size of the swimwear.

Those raising the hypocrite line wrote: 'Did no one see Jess on Towie? She was always in this sort of bikini when it was pool parties etc xxx...

'Literally. pot kettle black and all that xx... one rule for everyone else and their own rules for them, double standards at its finest lol.'