Joely's 'Nip and Tuck'

There are some women who like to cover up and leave everything to the imagination. There are others who feel that a brief hint of bare flesh is most effective. And then there is Joely Richardson.

The 38-year-old star has no qualms about revealing almost every inch of her age-defying figure.

The Richardson charms receive their latest televised airing tonight, with the first episode of Nip/Tuck, an American drama series about plastic surgery.

The actress, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, is thought not to have availed herself of any cosmetic procedures.

Most observers would say she should leave well alone. But she recently admitted: 'On a bad day I could give you ten things I'd change on my body.'

In Nip/Tuck, shown on Sky One, Miss Richardson plays the wife of a plastic surgeon who has become disillusioned with his job.

She is forced to fend off the unwanted attentions of his womanising partner, played by former Home and Away actor Julian McMahon.

The show has been such a hit in the U.S. that it was recently nominated for the best drama award at the Golden Globes while Miss Richardson was named in the best actress category.

When Nip/Tuck was initially aired in America last September, viewers were shocked to see graphic scenes of cosmetic surgery operations.

But it quickly became cult viewing and has already been commissioned for a second series. Ryan Murphy, the show's creator, said: 'All along, my idea was to do a show that doesn't glamorise plastic surgery. I was interested in the idea that people are very willing to endure an incredible amount of pain to make changes in their lives.'

Miss Richardson - who ended her romance with television presenter Jamie Theakston in 2001 - divides her time between her home in West London and Los Angeles, where the show is filmed.

But she largely works on Nip/Tuck during the school summer holidays so she can spend more time with her 11-year-old daughter Daisy, from her marriage to producer Tim Bevan.