CAITRIONA Balfe has admitted she struggles not to let her vanity get in the way of her nude scenes.

The Irish actress, 41, has set pulses racing with her steamy antics in her role as Claire Fraser in the time-hopping drama Outlander.

But while she’s self-conscious about stripping off on set, she insisted she wants her body to accurately portray the body of a woman in her 50s.

She explained: “It’s such a weird thing, because you’re constantly, or at least I am constantly, torn between these two things of well, Claire would not be going to the gym so I should not have a gym body.“

And, she’s now a woman in her fifties so you know, I should try and let that be the thing that leads me. But, then you have all of your own personal shit, right?”

CATWALK QUEEN

Monaghan native Caitriona first shot to fame as a model, becoming one of the most in-demand catwalk queens of the noughties.

The former Victoria’s Secret angel has an enviable figure, but said she still has the same hang-ups as everyone else.

And when it comes to shedding her clothes for a scene, she revealed she has to battle with herself to stop worrying about her cellulite.

She explained: “You have your own personal shame and vanity and all of those things, and you try to leave those at the door but you also know that if you feel insecure, that’s going to hamper your ability to lose yourself in a scene.

“So it’s always this thing I’m constantly battling with, between leaving my shit at the door and also giving myself I guess, enough confidence to be able to walk into those scenes and not have to think about whether or not I have cellulite on my ass or whatever these things are that kind of run through your head.”

‘UNFLAWED PEOPLE’

She added: “We’re not unflawed people, and it’s hard sometimes to live up to the expectation.”

Speaking on the Outlander podcast Outcasts, the Monaghan native said she had been naïve before joining the show because she hadn’t done sex scenes before.

However, it was a quick learning curve as the cast and crew quickly worked out protocols to ensure that the actors felt comfortable.

Describing the atmosphere on set as ‘respectful’, she said writers and directors are keenly aware of the need to be sensitive to actors’ vulnerabilities.

She explained: “We sort of put in protocols after that first season that sort of worked for us and worked for the writers and we continued with that.

“I think you know, what changed after that was a lot more characters came on the show that also needed to do sex scenes and I think that gave a broader awareness to everyone.”