The Grand Entrance

Anna Hutchison's grand entrance onto Australian television involved stripping naked for more than 2.5 million people in her raunchy role in the Underbelly prequel. While some viewers and family groups condemned her steamy sex scenes with Matthew Newton and frequent exposure of her breasts as soft porn, others drooled. Acknowledging the attention and backlash as "controversy the producers will be loving", the New Zealand actress said she dared to bare and would do it again. "A lot of women's roles you are up for call for nudity and it is just up to . . . whether you think the role needs it, and this one did," Hutchison, 23, said.

"Sometimes in maybe a comedy or something like that you might think, 'Yes, I've got funny-looking boobs so that would work'. It didn't worry me, but it's not the only thing I am capable of. I knew at the beginning there was nudity involved. I liked the real passion (Allison Dine) had. You want something that will challenge you and this has. I'm lucky the roles I've had since I was 16 have been totally different to how I am."


Hutchison's big Underbelly break came after years of chipping away at her showbiz career. Since landing a regular role in New Zealand soap Shortland Street in 2001, she has been juggling completing a business degree with featuring in local productions. After exposing so much flesh, it's probably no surprise a conservative role is next on Hutchison's agenda. "Probably a librarian or a nun," she laughed.