Kelly Brook defends strip show role

Model Kelly Brook has defended her decision to shed her clothes in a risque revue show, insisting burlesque is an "art form" and features nudity in a "beautiful way".

The Piranha 3D star will join the cast of Crazy Horse's Forever Crazy in London for one week as a guest performer next month and she will appear alongside fully naked dancers.

However, Brook is adamant the show is about more than just stripping off.

In a piece for The Sun, she writes, "It might surprise some people to hear that getting my kit off is not what I'm about. I don't need to be in a strip show and that isn't what burlesque is about - it's so much more than just the striptease.

"It's an art form which has been around for more than 170 years..."

Brook reveals she is felling "nervous" about her guest slot, but is happy she doesn't have to go completely naked.

She adds, "When I was asked to appear as a guest in the London production, I jumped at the chance - even though I'm pretty nervous. All the performers, except me, will be fully naked, so the audience see everything but in the most beautiful way. I keep taking clothes off until I get down to my lingerie. Thankfully, as a guest performer I don't have to strip to the nude."

Brook previously shed her clothes on stage to portray a lapdancer in the 2000 play Eye Contact, and she also stripped off in a production of Calendar Girls.