It's A Sin's Lydia West threw 1980s parties to get cast through harrowing scenes

It's A Sin star Lydia West has revealed the cast got through filming harrowing scenes by lightening the mood with daily parties.

The actress, who plays Jill Baxter in the Channel 4 show, arranged for the rest of the cast to come to her trailer every morning for 1980s-themed dances.

The show is set during the decade's AIDS epidemic and features some tear-jerking scenes, so Lydia was determined to help the actors find "a release".

She told OK! magazine : "From day one, all of the boys would come to my trailer for an '80s dance party every morning before filming.

"We were working with such a horrendous period of history that we needed a release."

Lydia revealed they'd put on catwalk shows, dance and have fun - and it strengthen their bond as a cast.

Olly Alexander as Richie and Lydia West as Jill in It's A Sin (ROSS FERGUSON)

She explained show creator Russell T. Davies encouraged the parties as he wanted the fun to come across onscreen to balance the sad scenes.

The actress added: "Russell really wanted to find the joy and the friendship within our group, so I'd summon the boys to my trailer every morning and we'd party...

"We'd put on our favourite '80s tracks and we'd do whatever we needed to do to feel good.

It's A Sin tells the story of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s (Channel 4)

"We did catwalks, We danced around. We Vogued. We did everything we could to feel our best selves.

"We had fun, which we hope shows up on screen."

Davies based Lydia's character of Jill on his own friend Jill Nalder, who was one of many women who cared for many suffering from HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s pandemic.

Nalder appears in the series as Jill's mother, who stands beside her daughter in her AIDS activism.

Read the full story in this week's issue of OK! out now.