Dick Turpin star Tamsin Greig explains why she refused to wear a corset
Many actors have complained of discomfort caused by the undergarment.
Tamsin Greig has revealed that she refused to wear a corset for her role in Apple TV+ comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.
The restrictive undergarment is frequently used in period dramas for authenticity, having been a prevalent part of society between the 17th and early 20th centuries.
However, they are notorious for being very uncomfortable, and long-term use can take a serious toll on an individual's health, from reducing lung capacity to causing muscular wasting.
As a result, there has been talk of 'banning' the corset from film and television sets in recent years, although some other performers did wear them in Dick Turpin, according to Greig.
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The Friday Night Dinner alum told RadioTimes.com and other press that avoiding the corset was a prerequisite for her to consider signing on for Noel Fielding's Apple TV+ comedy.
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"I'm not a huge fan of corsets," she began. "I think they are about the historical constraint of females. So that was one thing that I said, when I was offered it.
"I said, 'I would love to do this [but] I don't want to wear a corset', thinking that they would go, 'well, goodbye then'."
"But the costume designer, Rosa Dias, who I've worked with a number of times, is so elegant and so brilliant and has such a great team around her that she said 'you don't have to wear a corset but don’t tell anyone' – because some people are in corsets."
Dias is perhaps best known for her work on Netflix's coming-of-age comedy drama Sex Education, imagining the enviable styles of its core characters that added so much to the distinct look of that show.
Greig added: "She was able to work around my boundaries that I set and just created the most extraordinary palette of sumptuous designs."
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The comic talent plays Lady Helen Gwinear, who heads up a villainous cabal seeking to put an end to the fledgling careers of Dick Turpin and his eccentric gang of highway robbers.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is available to stream on Apple TV+. New episodes Fridays.
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