Philippine in Paris I'M HOTTER THAN EMILY!

Ooh la la! The French star tells how a bikini scene has boosted her TV career

When Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu rose out of the warm waters of the French Riviera in the second season of Emily in Paris – saline rivulets streaming off her skimpy black bikini – you could almost hear eyes popping from every corner of the globe.

In that one scene alone, the 59-year-old French actress struck a blow for older women in show business. Who? Her? Past her prime? We don’t think so!

Despite being a show about a young American woman (played by Lily Collins) trying to make her mark in the City of Lights, it’s Philippine who’s become the breakout star of Emily in Paris.

Her character, formidable marketing company manager Sylvie Grateau, is as chic as she is powerful, as vulnerable as she is rude and as ambitious as she is sexy.

To fans, it seems like the character of Sylvie came fully formed as a mature femme fatale. But, says the actress, when the show’s creator Darren Star – of Sex and the City fame – began working on the script, he’d imagined a much younger version of Sylvie.

Philippine turns 60 in April this year and was asked to audition on the back of her successful run in the French TV comedy hit Call My Agent!.