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Emily Atack has revealed exactly how she braved stripping off for the cameras for acclaimed raunchy drama Rivals as she shared behind-the-scenes details on Wednesday.
The actress, 35, left little to the imagination when she stepped into the role of Sarah Stratton for the Disney series, which is based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s best-selling novel of the same name.
Viewers watched as Emily stripped completely naked for a daring game of tennis, before attempting to hide her modesty after being caught.
While the eye-popping scenes left fans stunned, Atack has revealed it was easy to play the liberated character as she declared: ‘I am her.’
Speaking at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Emily confessed: ‘I’ve been typecast my whole life, and I‘ve loved every single minute of it. I will carry on playing sexy women for as long as they will have me.’
She continued: ‘I just wasn’t afraid to identify with her. I completely am her. I’m a very flawed woman. I’ve made terrible decisions in my love life.
‘I used all of that completely. It was completely genuine.
‘Finally, these so-called demonized women, they’re not being celebrated for that behaviour but they’re being understood better.’
Rivals saw her character married to fictional MP Paul Stratton, though she embarks on a lustuous affair with heartthrob Rupert Campbell-Black, who is played by Alex Hassell.
While Alex, 44, decided not to use a prosthetic penis for the sexy scenes with Emily, as he said author Jilly, 88, made Rupert so well endowed that ‘he could bat bread rolls across the room’.
However, Emily admitted she did take up the wardrobe department’s offer of assistance in preparing for the shoot.
She said: ‘I had a stick-on muff. I had to have a merkin, that’s what it is called. I had all these fittings for this merkin. It had to be like a proper eighties bush.
‘That kind of helped [doing the nude scene] because it felt like I had big furry knickers on.
‘At first it was really jarring seeing myself naked on scene. But then sort of once I’d seen it, I was like “oh fine”. I couldn’t put my clothes back on. I was running around that tennis court. They were like: “Emily, can you put your clothes on now?”’
Emily has had a rollercoaster love life with exes including singer Harry Styles, and models Jude Taylor and Jack Vacher.
She has now settled down with nuclear scientist Dr Alistair Garner and the pair welcomed their first child, son Barney, in June last year.
Filming for the second instalment of Rivals began in May, with the cast all reprising their roles for the next batch of episodes alongside new faces.
Streaming giant Disney revealed on Wednesday that actors Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett have signed up to the show.
They will be starring as Helen Gordon, Rupert Campbell-Black’s ex-wife, and show-jumping coach Malise Gordon.
Also joining the ensemble are Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt and Jonny Weldon.
Meanwhile, Danny Dyer revealed there is so much bonking in the second series that bosses had to hire every intimacy coordinator in the UK.
In the show, Danny played self-made businessman Freddie Jones who goes into business with Rupert and Declan O’Hara played by Aidan Turner.
Danny’s performance has been hailed as bringing heart to the frothy, pulpy series, which has led to a reassessment of him as an actor, following his long-running stint in EastEnders.
