Emily Atack defends racy Rivals role: "You can't win whatever you do"

Now, she's appearing in the much-anticipated Disney Plus adaptation of Jilly Cooper's steamy novel Rivals, prompting Radio Times to ask whether her past experiences made her hesitate about taking the role.

Atack responded: "You can’t win whatever you do. If you keep your clothes on you’re a frigid nun, if you take your clothes off you’re a tart.

"But I love my job, and if a role I’m playing requires nudity and it’s integral to the story and I’m safe, I’m exactly where I should be.

"I’ve learnt it’s not my behaviour that needs to be looked at and changed, it's other people's. I’ve learned to take back the narrative that was taken from me — my sexuality, my body.

"These kinds of roles are fun. I’m still young and it’s OK to feel liberated. I enjoy what I do."

She added: "And it’s Jilly Cooper – it's an honour to do it!"

Atack plays Sarah Stratton, wife to Deputy Prime Minister Paul (Rufus Jones), who has numerous noteworthy moments in the novel, including a naked game of tennis against another major character.

On bringing that scene to the screen, Atack explained: "The whole cast were warned early on that there would be nudity and sex scenes, so you knew what you were getting into.

"The sex is integral to the scenes and the characters, and the tennis scene is very famous, so I wanted to get it right.

"It was a closed set. I felt very safe, and I had a great spray tan."

You can read more from the Rivals cast in this week's Radio Times magazine – subscribe here.

Rivals is coming to Disney Plus on Friday 18th October 2024. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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