Emily Atack has revealed she feels ‘sexier than ever’ after her ‘liberating’ naked tennis scene and lingerie-clad romps in the new Disney+ ‘bonkbuster’ Rivals.
As she opened up about her feelings towards her body, the comedian and Inbetweeners star, 34, told of how she’s embracing her curves and feels no pressure to lose weight after welcoming baby Barney in June.
In her new role, Emily, who plays the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sarah Stratton, appears fully naked to play tennis with Alex Hassell’s character Rupert Campbell Black, who is also starkers.
The actress also strips down to black lingerie for a romp all within the first 25 minutes of the first episode.
Explaining that she’s more than happy with her body, Emily told Hello!: ‘People keep asking me if I’m going to the gym but I’m not. I’m a mum, I’ve got rolly bits and I’m healthy, feeling sexier than ever and playing a bombshell in an amazing series.
Emily Atack, 34, (pictured in September) has revealed she feels ‘sexier than ever’ after her ‘liberating’ naked tennis scene and lingerie-clad romps in the new Disney+ ‘bonkbuster’ Rivals
As she opened up about her feelings towards her body, the comedian and Inbetweeners star told of how she’s embracing her curves (Emily pictured in Rivals)
Emily shared: ‘People keep asking me if I’m going to the gym but I’m not. I’m a mum, I’ve got rolly bits and I’m healthy, feeling sexier than ever’ (pictured with son Barney, four months)
‘In my teens all I wanted to be was a size eight or 10. Our value always depends on what size we are and it shouldn’t be that way.’
Speaking of the iconic scene, Emily reflected: ‘Of course it was nerve-racking but by the end, but by the end of the day I felt very liberated. It’s such a famous scene in the book and I wanted to get it right.’
Emily has been praised for her racy performance in the raucous Disney+ series, and was completely nude in the eye-popping scene, where she protects her modesty with a just tennis ball and racket.
She previously stressed that she was unbothered by the prospect of baring all, explaining on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X that she was more intimidated by the thought of playing tennis.
‘It was so funny, because when they sent me the script, they said, “You know, you’re going to have to play tennis naked.” That was one of the things they said. And I said, “Disney, there is no way on Earth you’re going to get me to play tennis!”
‘That’s genuinely what I was worried about. I was like, “No way!” But yeah. So, once I got past all that bit, read the script, I was like, “Yeah, this is made for me, this role.” Those roles come along very rarely, and it just spoke to me.’
After the racy tennis scene, Emily gets intimate with her on-screen husband while a gay couple performs oral sex in a parallel scene.
In the sex montage, the camera then pans to Danny Dyer, who plays Freddie Jones, and David Tennant, who stars as Tony, jumping into bed naked with Nafessa Williams, who plays Cameron – despite his wife at home alone.
In her new role, Emily, who plays the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sarah Stratton, appears fully naked to play tennis with Alex Hassell’s character Rupert Campbell Black
The actress also strips down to her black lingerie all within the first 25 minutes of the first episode
Reflecting on the sex scenes, she added: ‘When you’re there and you’re doing it, it’s really not what it seems in in real life. Like, when you’re doing a sex scene, for example, there’s nothing sexy about it! It’s hilarious!
‘You know, we all get the giggles, but we’re all very professional. And in this day and age, you have intimacy coordinators, it’s a very different thing.
‘You have people putting a robe on you as soon as they yell cut, you know? And also, it really helps when you have someone like Alex Hassell, who’s just the loveliest gentleman in the world.
‘And yeah, as long as everybody is safe and being professional, and getting on with it, yeah, I’m just there, doing my job, having a lovely time!’
Emily even revealed that she has a fan in Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds.
Recounting the premiere for the new series, she said: ‘The premier was great. And yeah, everyone seems to be loving it. So, it’s great. Ryan Reynolds spoke about it on Instagram.
‘He put up a story about it last night… Ryan Reynolds has seen my bum!’
Emily has been outspoken about body positivity after a wave of cruel comments from trolls about her fluctuating weight over the years.
It comes after Emily insisted the world needs her new Disney+ series Rivals’ as an escape from reality, during an interview on Monday’s Loose Women
She told Stylist that she doesn’t let the trolls get her down, regardless of where she sits on the scales, explaining: ‘Luckily I have a wonderful life full of love and friendship and I have my health, so I take strength from that.
‘I won’t bow to a stranger who felt a desire to call me out on my double chins.’
On Monday, Emily insisted ‘the world needs’ her new Disney+ series Rivals as an escape from reality, during an interview on Loose Women.
The actress stressed that stripping off for sexy scenes in her career does not undermine her campaigning to end violence against women.
Speaking to Ruth Langsford, Coleen Nolan, Katie Piper and Brenda Edwards about her new raunchy role in the series, Emily credited the show for touching on sensitive subjects ‘brilliantly’.
She said: ‘I think the world needs this at the moment and it is escapism. It touches on really sensitive subjects and it does it brilliantly.
‘It’s very unusual, a different dynamic to navigate but it shows to me that finally people are understanding that these things need to be in place.
‘The perverts have killed the fun, the Me Too movement has put all these amazing things into place.’
Emily earlier this year starred in a ‘provocative’ campaign using the slogan ‘I’m asking for it’ which calls for a change in the laws on rape and sexual assault
She continued: ‘I am actually fine with it [stripping] you know. People think you can’t do both. [campaign for women against sexual harassments while going nude on TV].
‘I’m exactly where I was meant to be, we have intimacy coordinators, we are all being professionals.
‘I am not going to change what I am doing, it’s my work, it’s the other people that have to watch what they are doing.’
Emily starred in a ‘provocative’ campaign using the slogan ‘I’m asking for it’ earlier this year, which calls for a change in the laws on rape and sexual assault.
The TV star also previously explored the alarming rise in online sexual harassment for BBC2 documentary Emily Atack: Asking For It after experiencing repeated daily abuse across her Instagram and TikTok accounts.
