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Lee Ingleby's acting break might not be everybody's idea of a dream come true.

The 23-year-old star of BBC2's powerful drama, Nature Boy, had to do full-frontal nude scenes, grapple witha bad tempered parrot, swim in the sea in sub-zero temperatures, and pretend to make love while covered in mud in the murky depths of an eco-warrior's tunnel.

'I drank lots of coffee and smoked loads of cigarettes to cope with the long hours and difficult scenes,' smiles Lee.

'But playing such a massive part meant it was definately worth it.'

Lee is on screen almost all the time in the drama, as his character, 16-year-old David Witton, journeys across Britain to find the father who left him when he was just four. This week, in the concluding part, several parts of the jigsaw finally come together.

Intense and self-sufficient, David's special affinity with the natural world helps him to survive the toughest conditions, both emotionally and physically.

'David has this bond with animals,' explains Lee, who grew up in Burnley, Lancashire. 'Luckily, the animals seem to like me too, so I didn't have too many problems working with them.'

In the opening episode, David was seen cradling a large, fierce-looking parrot in his arms.

'That was Jake,' grins Lee. 'Before we filmed with him, I went to the animal sanctuary where he lives, just to say hello. He didn't like me at first. In fact, he bit me - hard - but once he got used to me, he was great. I would go up and say hello to him and give him a nod, and he'd greet me back.'

As for the fox cub which David adopted the following week, and carried around in his rucksack, Lee reveals: 'We used two cubs to play the part, and they were really co-operative. The only problem with foxes is they really, really smell!'

More tricky were Lee's nude scenes. His character, David, has a habit of flinging off his clothes to commune with nature.

'The first time was worrying,' says Lee. 'It was a scene where I had to wade a long way into the sea and swim.

'You have 20 clothed crew members all watching your bare backside winking in the sun, and then, of course, I had to turn around and come back.

'Once I'd done it, I quite enjoyed it, even though it was freezing. Since then, I've even appeared nude on stage in a play at London's Bush Theater. That was worse, as teh audience are so close to you.'

Then there were Lee's love scenes, with former Coronation Street star Joanne Froggatt, who plays determined eco-warrior Jenny Macalister.

'It's always nerve-racking pretending to make out with someone you don't know that well,' says Lee, who's single.

'But by the time Joanne and I got to film that part, we had done loads of other scenes together. Although, for some reason, she did keep on stressing to me that has a boyfriend!'

Although Nature Boy is Lee's** biggest role to date, he has appeared on TV before, in Soldier, Soldier, Killer Net and Dalziel and Pascoe. And just after he left drama school, he was picked for a small part in the 1998 Hollywood film, Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston.

'Eight months previously I was this poor student who could hardly afford to cook pasta,' laughs Lee.

'Then, suddenly, I'm up there with the likes of Drew Barrymore. I was working with my mouth wide open all the time!'

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** The article reads 'David's' but as I find that incomprehensibly insulting, I've fixed it.

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This page was last updated February 27, 2003

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