SEX siren Emily Atack is no stranger to a suggestive selfie or a sultry snap and regularly sets pulses racing.
During filming for Rivals, a new series based on Jilly Cooper’s bestselling novel of the same name, the 34-year-old Inbetweeners‘ star revealed how she was so relaxed filming full frontals she would sit on set with her ‘knockers out’.
Emily, 34, plays Sarah Stratton, the wife of the deputy prime minister and is seen playing tennis naked with main character Rupert Campbell-Black played by Alex Hassell.
While Emily is no stranger to nudity and has spent decades celebrating her sexuality with sexy shoots and barely-there bikinis, she’s faced a barrage of online abuse and trolling.
However, body language expert, Judi James, says that Emily’s bare-chested snaps aren’t about trying desperately to impress and gain fans.
Instead, they are about empowering her and other women that pose that way.
According to Judi, they signal control: “The passive pouts, fake-flirty expressions or dull stares of retro glamour models have gone,” she explains.
“They have been replaced by body poses and facial expressions that suggest if there is a joke involved it’s on the viewer taking it seriously rather than the model or actress adopting them.
“It’s a clever blending of contrasting body language signals that are used to show who is really in charge now.
Here, Judi looks at the body language in Emily’s snaps which reveal how she’s grown in confidence and says these days, she isn’t posing for anyone other than herself.
In one of her first photoshoots to promote TV sitcom, The Inbetweeners, where she played Charlotte ‘Big Jugs’ Hinchcliffe, Emily posed as ‘TV’s Sexiest Girl’ for the front cover of FHM.
The linear evolution of Emily as a pin-up girl shows a seismic shift in her levels of confidence and control and Judi says, for this lads’ mag shoot, her body language makes her look ‘almost terrified’.
Judi says: “Here Emily’s shoulders are raised, which can be a sign of tension or stress, and her arms hang rigidly at her sides.
“Her expression lacks emotion as though she gets why her body might be seen as attractive but baring it like this might make her feel lacking in control of the communicated messages.”
Despite her unsure body language, in a recent interview with the Guardian, Emily said she loved doing these early career shoots.
She said: “I enjoyed those shoots. I was celebrating my youth and sexuality in beautiful locations, wearing gorgeous underwear with lovely crews of people and photographers.”
Emily’s first shoot is a far cry from this saucy topless bed selfie in which she admits she forgot her pyjamas.
According to Judi, Emily is in total control and knows exactly the message she wants to send.
She explains: “With the camera hanging drone-like in front or over her, we can see a very healthy, bare-faced-and-freckled Emily poking fun at anyone taking a look.
“She’s baring her breasts but challenging and rejecting anyone looking at the same time in this playful, fun pose.
“Her eyes are creased in an eye-smile but her nose-creasing suggests a slight sneer of disgust.
“Her full-on tongue-poke is a childlike signal of rebellion, naughtiness and rejection.
“She looks confident but fun here.
“And she looks totally on top of her game in terms of confidence.”
Emily is no stranger to looking fabulous in a bikini and this holiday in Ibiza with her mum, Kate Robbins and sister, Martha Atack, in 2021 was no exception.
Judi says that this cheeky pose shows Emily is in charge of this photo and how she wants to be perceived.
Judi says: “This pose comes with some very cheeky attitude as Emily again shows who is in charge now.
“Peering over the top of her shades she makes the viewer feel almost naughty to be looking and her slightly prudish, shocked facial expression adds to the mood of authority here.”
And Judi says women use ‘chest splaying’ to please nobody but themselves:
“The signalling is more about that sense of strength than about female sexual pleasing or peacocking for the benefit of the opposite sex,” she adds.
Emily started working with high street retailer, New Look, in Autumn 2021 and has lost all of the uncertainty of her earlier shoots in these behind-the-scenes photos from her 2023 beach campaign for the brand.
Judi says: “The session shows her with either one hand on her hip in a gesture of aggressive arousal or with both arms raised to perform a pit-bare ritual.
“Baring the armpits like this is a signal of power and superiority and, by baring this delicate body part, Emily suggests she’s now fearless and in control.”
Another confident bikini pose from 2021, this time in Marbella, where Emily has nailed the under-boob look.
Judi says it’s a tricky pose to pull off but Emily’s body confidence here is clearly through the roof.
Judi says: “With a cocktail in one hand Emily raises the stakes here by posing showing under-boob as well as cleavage.
“This can be a tricky ‘reveal’ to pull off in a studio but Emily clearly has enough body confidence to do it while moving around enjoying herself.
“Her chin is raised here too, signalling that extra confidence and positive self-esteem.”
Last year, Emily was in Ibiza posting another sexy selfie and showing the world she knew how to pose.
Judi says a pose like this shown in a selfie, rather than in a studio, shows Emily is completely in control of her narrative.
She reveals: “Emily shows her skill at working a pose by working her cleavage here, deftly and cleverly raising one arm to hold her camera for the selfie and using it to push one boob inward at the same time.
“The act of taking a selfie for a pose like this suggests control again, rather than standing in a studio being controlled by the photographer.”
Being in control is important for Emily who says there is still a lot of misogyny in her industry.
She’s said previously: “It’s anger towards women. Men are so angry with sexy women.”
Comedian and actress Emily appeared on Keith Lemon’s cheeky panel show, Celebrity Juice, as a team captain for three seasons from 2020.
In the last ever episode, she wore this ‘keyhole neckline cleavage’ dress and, in an Instagram post to mark the programme’s final episode, wrote: “For one last time, let’s be appalling.”
Judi says Emily is using some ironic poses while appearing on edgy comedy shows with this look.
She says: “With her legs crossed and cleavage thrust forward she’s replicating the sort of poses girls would be expected to adopt for pin-up mags of the 60’s and 70’s.
“But with an ironic vibe – as though letting the world know she’s doing it with humour and a sense of ironic fun, like a skit on that era of glam-cheese.”
