THE runaway success of Calendar Girls has seen four different casts baring all on stage.

There is now a growing number of actresses who have either joined more than one cast or who have moved from playing one character to another.

Former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson is now playing glamour girl Celia on tour, having graduated from her role as Elaine the beautician in one of the three West End casts. Confused? We may be but Gemma is in no doubt who's who.

“I was thrilled before to be appearing in the West End with people of the calibre of June Brown, Anita Dobson and Jerry Hall and I'm equally thrilled to be asked back to play Celia,” says the Bury-born actress and model. “Calendar Girls is one of those shows that makes you laugh and then makes you cry.”

And nothing bonds the Calendar Girls company together more tightly than the need for them all to strip off on stage for the calendar shoot.

“I've been spending hours in the gym,” Gemma laughs. “The way it's done in the show is very funny and I want to play the scene in a way that will make the women in the audience feel embarrassed for my character. We've all got to do it so we might as well grin and bear it.”

Gemma stars alongside Lynda Bellingham, Judith Barker, Letitia Dean, Jan Harvey and Hannah Waterman in the stage adaptation of Tim Firth's smash-hit film.

At 25, she is the baby of the Calendar Girls and admits she was initially concerned that she might be too young for the part but her character has been adapted especially for her.

And Texas beauty Jerry Hall, her co-star in Calendar Girls, has been giving her some tips on the transition from glamour model to serious actress.

“Jerry told me that people would see me in a particular light because of my modelling so what I should do is surprise them. I often shock people by turning up for meetings in flat shoes and baggy trousers, which glamour models aren't supposed to do.

“And Calendar Girls shows how serious I am about acting. I don’t want people to forget I’m a model. I just want them to know there’s more to me.”

Gemma is also making moves on the big screen. Horror movie 13Hrs, her first leading cinema role — in which she does “a lot of screaming and a lot of running” — is out soon and once her stint in Calendar Girls is over, she’ll be filming a romance called The Sweet Shop.

l CALENDAR GIRLS — The Lowry, Salford Quays, February 9-21. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0844 815 4873 for tickets.