Bodyguard's Keeley Hawes has opened up about her battle for pay equality.
She played Julia Montague in the BBC thriller last year, which went on to smash viewing figure records during its debut series. Despite wowing the nation, Keeley has revealed that she's only recently started asking to be paid the same as her male co-stars.
Related: Richard Madden is keen on Bodyguard season 2 – but thinks one big change might have to happen
Speaking to The Times, Keeley said: "I've only just asked to be paid the same to do exactly the same work as someone else. In the past, it was always a case of take it, no questions asked, because if you don't someone else will take it.
"You need a big profile to be able to stand up for yourself. It took people like Jennifer Lawrence saying it to move things forward.
"It made her unpopular at the time but it's started a hugely powerful movement. Generally, the statistics for women's pay are still horrific compared with men's, but it's all moving in the right direction."
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Related: Bodyguard's Keeley Hawes still gets asked if Julia Montague is still alive
Meanwhile, the actress recently recalled an awkward encounter with the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd.
Keeley is known to have used Amber as "research" for her Bodyguard role, with many fans believing that the character Julia Montague is based on the real-life politician.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
