Denise Welch, 60, has revealed her husband Lincoln Townley, 48, has "not been out of the gym" since he landed the role as the body double for her toyboy in her new Hollyoaks role.
Denise is set to play new character Trish Minniver, Maxine's mum, in the Channel 4 soap.
And her role includes a toyboy in the shape of Brad King (Tom Benedict Knight) but with Covid restrictions still in place, actors are not allowed to touch.
This means Lincoln was hired by the soap to stand in as Tom's body double for more intimate scenes so it looks like Trish is touching Brad.
Denise explained: "Considering at my age I thought I would get somebody from Dad's Army, I was really quite impressed.
"There was no way I was going to turn down that role, it's a gift, and Tom Benedict Knight, who plays Brad, we have moved back into the village much of the horror, initially, of my daughter, Maxine."
Maxine is played by Nikki Sanderson, who also starred on Coronation Street at the same time as Denise, and Denise said she has known Nikki since she was 14 and they have a "mother and daughter relationship".
"And along comes Brad who is quite gorgeous, and because we are doing Covid filming, we're not allowed to have any physical contact.
"They come out with the two metre pole, it's all very strict, we have to adhere to all these guidlines.
"So they have asked Lincoln if he would come in and be a body double so he is never out of the gym!
"He saw a picture of Tom and he's never been out f the gym, and now the gyms are closed, he is out for a run as we speak!
"Tom is a fantastic actor and I am excited to see where it leads," she added.
* Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV at 12:30pm
