MAKING A SPECTACULAR COMEBACK IN 'RIVALS' EMILY ATACK ON FINDING TRUE LOVE, HOW MOTHERHOOD HAS CHANGED HER AND THAT NAKED TENNIS SCENE

Life has certainly changed for Emily Atack over the past year.

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Not only has she fallen in love and become a mother, but she has also landed the “best job ever” after making a comeback on our TV screens.

So when the actress joins HELLO! for this exclusive interview and photoshoot, it’s little wonder she is feeling happy, contented and as if everything is going her way.

“It’s been amazing to be back in acting, and what a job to go back to,” says Emily, who stars in the hotly anticipated Disney+ series Rivals, an adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s 1980s “bonkbuster” novel.

“Then I managed to get pregnant and have a baby. What a year!” adds the 34-year-old star, who has found love with nuclear physicist Alistair Garner.

With its glamorous sets, steamy sex scenes and raunchy nude romps – which include Emily’s character, the vivacious, voluptuous Sarah Stratton, an MP’s unfaithful wife, enjoying a game of naked tennis – the eight-part series is one of the most talked-about shows of the year.

Set in the fictional county of Rutshire and with a stellar cast that includes Poldark’s Aidan Turner, Doctor Who’s David Tennant, Alex Hassell of His Dark Materials fame and Danny Dyer, who plays endearing self-made millionaire Freddie Jones, the story follows the rivalry between a group of powerful personalities orbiting a 1980s regional TV network.

These include Lothario Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex), network boss Lord Tony Baddingham (David) and presenter Declan O’Hara (Aidan), who compete against a high-octane backdrop of social status, social climbing and illicit encounters.

COMFORTABLE IN HER OWN SKIN

The role comes at a time when Emily says she is finally comfortable with her curves and feels no pressure to lose her baby weight.