Daffodil advanced by actor James? (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

lent lily

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'daffodil' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'advanced by actor james?' is the wordplay.
'advanced' becomes 'lent' (advance can mean to lend).
'by actor james?' becomes 'lily' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'lent'+'lily'='LENT-LILY'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for lent lily that I've seen is " Daffodil - nil telly (anag)".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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