Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity

Loose Women panel chat about Lynda Bellingham

Emily Atack has candidly discussed her daring role in the new Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper's racy novel Rivals. The 34-year-old actress made quite the entrance in the series, appearing fully nude in a tennis scene.

The show kicks off with characters joining the mile-high club on a plane, followed by Emily's captivating scene within the first 25 minutes of the high-profile series.

On Monday (October 21), Emily joined the panel on Loose Women to talk about her part and robustly defended the use of nudity in the series.

The ex-Inbetweeners star explained: "I read the script and they said 'there is going to be lot of nudity are you up for this? ', I said 'Disney, there is no way on earth that you are going to get me playing tennis!'. But honestly, It was the best job I have ever done in my life; the cast was amazing."

Coleen Nolan of Loose Women probed Emily on whether she felt apprehensive about the sex scenes and nudity, reports the Mirror.

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Emily speaks to the Loose Women about her naked scenes in Rivals (Image: ITV)

"I'm actually fine with it," Emily responded. "It's so funny isn't it, because people kind of go 'well you need to pick a lane, you can't be somebody who does these kinds of roles and campaigns for sexual violence against women', but people think you can't do both.

"I am really trying to hammer this message home, saying that yes, you can. I am exactly where I need to be, at work in a professional environment."

Emily remarked, "Obviously, in the past, it wasn't always that way. We have intimacy coordinators now, and it's heavily choreographed. We're all having a nice time, and we're all being professional."

"I'm doing my job; I'm not going to change what I'm doing; it's the behaviour of other people that needs to change."

Emily Atack stars in new series Rivals (Image: Hulu/Youtube) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241015.min.js"

Brenda Edwards couldn't hide her enthusiasm for Rivals, confessing she binged all eight episodes in one go. "It's brilliant, and you are amazing," she praised Emily before enquiring how she copes with any negative reactions to the show.

Emily replied: "It's funny, isn't it? As women, we are so used to having to think about our behaviour, like what we wear. We can't go for a jog after dark; we have to take a different route home.

"All we are saying is, men all of a sudden now have to look inward at their own behaviour."

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Emily Atack spoke about Rivals during Monday's Loose Women episode (Image: ITV)

She added: "They have been allowed to get away with for years, some men and not all men, they can't stand the fact they need to look inward and change their behaviour. We have had to do it forever, so it's educating."

Ruth Langford then chimed in: "I hope there is going to be another series", to which Emily concurred, describing Rivals as a perfect piece of 'escapism'.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV and ITVX

Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity

Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity

Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity

Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity

Emily Atack hits back at critics of Rivals as she speaks out on 'controversial' nudity