BBC bonk-buster Apple Tree Yard sparks sales boost for Bridget Jones-style knickers

SALES of tummy-tucking Spanx knickers are set to soar after featuring on steamy bonkbuster Apple Tree Yard last night.

Actress Emily Watson, 50, was seen taking off a pair of big black Bridget Jones-style pants while having an affair in the steamy BBC1 drama.

Show writer Amanda Coe said prior to the first episode: “We think everyone will be wanting a pair of huge Spanx by Monday morning.”

The large knickers are a realistic aspect of the middle-aged fling between scientist Dr Yvonne Carmichael, played by Emily, and Ben’s mysterious civil servant character Mark Costley.

It ends with her on trial at the Old Bailey.

Emily refused to go nude in the four-part series which sees her romp in an alleyway, restaurant toilets and in Parliament’s crypt during the opening episode.

The actress said she was too old to bare the flesh like she had previously done in movies Breaking The Waves and Metroland.

The Sun revealed last week that the X-rated show could be in trouble with telly’s watchdogs after the first graphic scene came just minutes after the 9pm watershed.

TV shows abide by an unwritten rule they must not air “adult” content within 15 minutes of that period.

As the racy BBC thriller sees Emily Watson begin a seemingly mad fling, we spoke to four real women with different reasons for having an affair.