CHEAT star Katherine Kelly has admitted she WASN'T embarrassed about shooting THAT toilet masturbation scene.

The actress shocked viewers when her character Leah pleasured herself in the loo just five minutes into the first episode on Monday night.

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But the actress - who plays an unhappily married university lecturer - has told The Sun she was more than happy to shoot the intimate scene.

She dished: "It really takes a lot for me to be embarrassed. I have done sex scenes a lot before, I had my fair share of them in Mr Selfridge.

"I have had two children and after childbirth, you are not embarrassed by anything.

"Also the practicalities of what goes on in a room is so clinical. It was a hot day, the room was blacked out and we were so hot because we had this massive duvet on us. There were 20 people in the room.

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"The masturbating scene happens so early. I didn’t want people to turn it off."

Katherine's fears fans would switch off came before viewing figures revealed the drama lost 500,000 viewers after her masturbation scene.

But the star stands by them, adding: "You only get embarrassed when it doesn’t feel right, but I thought, reading the script, well women masturbate as much as men right."

"She is so frustrated and so pent up, I could see why that would be her only release. She is trying for a baby, she can’t even have a drink."

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Leah performed the solo sex act as she fantasised about a sexy work colleague.

And viewers were taken aback by the raunchy scenes, which are a world away from Katherine's days on Coronation Street where she played Becky McDonald until 2012.

One wrote: "Why does there have to be awkward sex scenes? It makes me cringe #Cheat."

Another added: "Thought this would be some good dramatic viewing for me and my mum and 5 mins in someone’s w***ing in the loos, ideal."

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A third tweeted: "Oh wow well this took a sudden turn. Wtf am I actually watching right now."

The star also told The Sun's TV Mag there are still many "twists and turns" to come in the four-part series, which is currently halfway through.

Explaining why the show is aired nightly rather than weekly, she revealed: "There are too many twists and turns to sustain a week away from it, it would lose momentum.

"It’s so quick and the stakes ramp up so quickly, so it needs to be consecutive nights."

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