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The Crown star Lesley Manville opens up about her experiences filming sex scenes early in her career.
The 68-year-old actress, who played Princess Margaret in the later seasons of the Netflix hit, said she felt “exposed and vulnerable” while filming her 1981 comedy Rita, Sue And Bob Too.
The story is about teenage babysitters Rita and Sue who start an affair with Bob, their employer. The series was adapted into a film in 1987.
Speaking with The Mirror On the subject of staging sex scenes, she admitted that her concerns were not taken into account when filming the intimate scenes.
She said: ‘We were very exposed. Our modesty was somewhat intact, but vulnerable. It should have been different, but it was not unusual for that time.’
The Crown star Lesley Manville, 68, has revealed she felt ‘exposed and vulnerable’ when staging sex scenes in her career, as she admits she is still ‘sexually active’
The actress admitted that her concerns were not taken into account when filming the intimate scenes, as she explained: ‘We were very exposed. Our modesty was somewhat intact, but vulnerable’ (pictured in 1986 with her then-husband Gary Oldman)
Lesley also admitted that in today’s society there would be a lot of fear about making a film about a man having an affair with two underage girls.
Reflecting on her 50-year career, Lesley also spoke candidly about being an older woman in the industry who can still express her sexuality.
She continued: ‘Women see actresses their age looking fantastic… ‘I don’t dress inappropriately, but I want to have the freedom to dress the way I want.
‘Luckily, there are roles that I play now for women who can say, ‘I’m this age, yes, I’m still sexually active, yes, I want to dress the way I want, yes, I want to be seen as bold and brave and outrageous if we want to be.’
‘Otherwise it’s so boring.’
Lesley’s career began when she got a job on Emmerdale at the age of 18, after studying at the famous Italia Conti school.
She then wanted to perform at the Royal Court Theatre, where she met the renowned writer and director Mike Leigh.
The duo worked together on the films Another Year and All Or Nothing and Lesley described how he encouraged her to try roles outside her comfort zone.
Lesley played Princess Margaret in Netflix’s later series The Crown and has had a successful career spanning 50 years
Lesley recently played the role of Amy Winehouse’s Aunt Cynthia in this year’s biographical drama Back To Black (pictured with Marisa Abela)
Lesley portrayed as Susan Ryeland in BBC drama series Magpie Murders
More recently, Lesley, who was married to actor Gary Oldman from 1987 to 1990, cleaning lady and fashion-conscious Mrs. Harris in the 2022 film Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.
Over the past year, she has appeared in the Apple series Disclaimer, the film Queer, the sequel to Magpie Murder, and the second season of the BBC series Sherwood.
She also played Amy Winehouse’s Aunt Cynthia in this year’s biographical drama Back To Black.
In October, her career in the West End begins with the lead role in the Greek tragedy Oedipus, opposite Sherlock Holmes star Mark Strong.