Sherrie Hewson had to don a "fat suit" for her role as Mrs Slocombe in ‘Are You Being Served?’
The 65-year-old actress has admitted she was lacking in the breast department for her role in the remake of the classic 70s and 80s comedy, which sees her play the role made famous by the late Molly Sugden, and was forced to adorn a false body piece to exaggerate her ample assets.
Speaking on the chat show ‘This Morning’ on Thursday (25.08.16), she said: "I had a fat suit on, mainly because I haven’t got the bosoms. She had what I call a lady shelf, and I haven’t got a shelf I’ve only got a little ledge."
The ‘Benidorm’ star went on to explain that none of the new recruits are trying to impersonate their famous forbears, but want to bring an essence of them to the characters.
She said: "I’m not impersonating. We’re not doing impressions. I’m not doing an impression of Molly Sugden playing Mrs Slocombe. I just come with the essence of [her]."
However, Sherrie has revealed the costume and wig helped her get into character, which the live audience seemed to appreciate.
She explained: "I have to tell you Richard who made that wig made all Molly’s so I’m very honoured that he has made my wig. And then the costume was made as you can see exactly like hers, and then I put Richard’s wig on that he made for me and that’s when it came.
"That night in the studio – in all my years – it was the most wonderful thing ever. The audience went wild. We had 250 people in the audience and 20,000 people applied. And every time I said my cat line Tiddles the audience went wild. It’s so loved."
And Sherrie – who has recently announced she is leaving the chat show ‘Loose Women’ next month – is "very proud" of her performance in the sitcom.
She said: "I knew Molly and I knew John [Inman], and I adored them both. And it’s such a tribute to them and their talent. They’re such iconic characters and I feel very proud and privileged to do that."