‘Sanditon’ star Anne Reid star thinks there is too much male nudity on television now – and 007 star Daniel Craig is to blame.
The 84-year-old actress plays rich widow Lady Denham in the new ITV period drama which featured three men showing off their naked bottoms on the beach and a sex scene in the woods in the first episode but Reid is not a fan of on-screen flesh and claims Craig emerging from the sea in tiny sky blue swimming trunks in 2006 James Bond film ‘Casino Royale’ was responsible for sparking the trend rather than shirt-ditching Andrew Turner in ‘Poldark’.
In an interview with the new issue of Radio Times magazine, she said: "I don’t think it’s Andrew. It’s the times we live in. There are a lot of naked males around and I think it’s unnecessary. Look at ‘Poldark’. But I’m old and it’s what people want nowadays.
"It was Daniel Craig’s fault, coming out of the sea. It’s just a thing now: if you’ve got the sea and you’ve got a bloke, then he has to take his kit off and get in the water."
Reid also joked she won’t be stripping off for ‘Sanditon’ or any other project unless she gets paid millions of pounds.
She quipped: "I said, ‘I hope they don’t ask me to do it.’ I’d want a great deal of money. About four million pounds might do it. I could put the nation off their tea and then retire!"
‘Sanditon’ is based on a novel written by Jane Austen which remained unfinished when she died in 1817 at the age of 41.
Screenwriter Andrew Davies – who was also responsible for the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Austen’s book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – took the 11 completed chapters of the tome for inspiration to create his eight-part television series.
Kris Marshall plays architect Tom Parker who is developing Sanditon into a fancy Regency resort in the story and he insisted he had no issue baring his bum for the programme.
The 46-year-old actor said: "I don’t have a problem showing my bum. The simple fact was female nudity was a lot more hidden away in those days, and male nudity was kind of natural. So it’s completely historically accurate and Andrew Davies isn’t sexing Austen up at all.
"The only issue for me is that out of the male leads in the show, I’m the most senior by 14 years. These other boys are very beautiful and gym-ready. I had to watch the carbs."
Anne Reid says there’s too much male nudity on TV
