Elaine C. Smith signs up for Calendar Girls

Jun 1 2008 Exclusive by Heather Greenaway

ACTRESS Elaine C Smith has signed on to bare all in a stage version of hit movie Calendar Girls.

Elaine, 49, will get naked alongside Lynda Bellingham, Gaynor Faye and Patricia Hodge when the comedy tours Britain this autumn.

And the Sunday Mail columnist has no fears of getting nude - once her diet kicks in.

She said: "I amturning 50 this year and am under no illusions that everything is heading south but bring it on. The only person I would mind seeing me naked is George Clooney.

"All the nudity will be tastefully done and there is only one naked scene."

Recalling the movie scene in which Scots actress Celia Imrie preserves her modesty behind a cake stand, Elaine joked: "I have told the producer he will definitely need bigger buns."

Elaine is determined to tone up before she reveals her body to the world as church organist Cora.

She said: "It's the first time anyone has asked me to strip off and I'm making sure I will be ready, even though the public might not be.

"In an ideal world, they would let me wear a bodysuit or cover myself from head to toe in concealer. But that is never going to happen.

"So, from now on, it is low carbs and lots of tennis. I'm never going to be a size 8 but I would like to get my size 14 jeans on without having to lie on the bed and wrestle them up.

"I've been told to keep my Scots accent for the role of Cora, which I think is fantastic.

"My character is an ex-rock chick, a vicar's daughter gone bad and at one point I have to play an R&B version of Jerusalem which will be a great laugh.

"The world has seen me in a flannelette nightie as Mary Doll in Rab C Nesbitt and wearing a skirt halfway up my bum in Little Voice, so I might as well do the full monty."

Elaine - whose daughters, Katie, 19, and Hannah, 13, find the idea of their mum baring all very amusing - is delighted at landing the role.

She said: "I was over the moon when producer David Pugh phoned up and offered me a part.

"There are some great actresses on board already and they are in talks with Hannah Gordon and Brigit Forsyth, so it is gearing up to be quite a cast and, if the tour is well received, it could end up in the West End."

The show is based on the true story of WI members who produce a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research after one of their husbands dies from the illness.

The tale touched the nation and inspired copycat strips for charity.

Elaine said: "A percentage of the royalties from the tour will go to Leukaemia Research, which is a cause really close to my heart.

"My mum Stella passed away in 2005 from breast cancer and just a few months later we discovered my sister Diane had leukaemia."

The tour kicks off at Glasgow's Kings Theatre on September 29.

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