Vicky McClure had a weekly spray tan for ‘The Replacement’.
The 33-year-old actress had to undergo a series of beauty treatments to play the role of Paula in the BBC One show including hair highlights and many applications of false nails.
She said: "I had a spray tan every week. I had blonde highlights put through my hair. And then I had false nails, which completely ruined my own nails.
"We took it as far as reality allowed. She wore bright pink pencil skirts and we tried to make sure that all her clothes were just slightly too tight. It’s kind of that she’s trying, but it’s not quite working. You can tell she’s a little bit confused."
And Vicky admits it was tough playing the character as she, herself, found Paula so "horrific".
She added to The Times newspaper: "After takes I’d want to shake her off. It was like, ‘Argh, she’s horrific.’
"And Morven would be like, ‘Urgh, what was that?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know and I’m sorry, but urgh!’"
Meanwhile, Vicky previously revealed her co-star Morven Christie is a "dream to work with".
She shared: "It’s me and Morven Christie going toe-to-toe. We just got on straight away from the get go. She is just a dream to work with, my kind of girl, down to earth. She’s got great instinct and we had a bit of a play – it wasn’t a regimented set.
"Joe Ahearne, who wrote and directed it, was very free, and really ‘got’ me and Morven – he knew the sort of actors we are. It was a real pleasure of a job despite a difficult storyline."
Vicky McClure’s weekly spray tan
