Scoop's Keeley Hawes describes her 'horrific' early career as a model where ... trends now

Keeley Hawes has candidly opened up about her early career in the industry as she revealed what it was really like working as a model during the nineties. 

The star is best known for her outstanding roles in The Bodyguard, Line Of Duty and The Durrells, however before she was an actress Keeley began her career as a fashion model. 

Opening up about the shoots she worked on in her late teens and early twenties, the 48-year-old admitted it was 'horrific' due to the complete lack of guidance and support: 'The Nineties were traumatic for women.' 

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph, Keeley explained: 'You’d go to a photoshoot and there would be a rail of underwear. You’d have no press person.'

Keeley was spotted by a modelling scout while shopping on London's Oxford Street during her work experience stint at Cosmopolitan Magazine. 

After signing to Select Models, she booked a number of campaigns including teen magazine Shout and posing for photographer John Stoddart, although there is nothing to suggest those shoots were problematic in particular. 

The star also referenced last year's Channel 4 Russell Brand documentary as she explained it left her feeling traumatised. 

'I’m recognising so much of that behaviour but with a totally different lens, and so much of what happened to us was in that vein and was so wrong, but we just accepted it. It was totally normal and it was what was expected.' 

Keeley have begun her career in the modelling industry, surrounded by the pressures of the beauty industry, however she hasn't been tempted into the world of facelifts and fillers. 

Keeley admitted that while the camera isn't always her friend, she would rather keep her face clean and not mess with nature. 

She confessed her secret is facials, microneedling and laser for pigmentation, but she would never touch injectables. 

The star joked that she wouldn't have got her role as the slightly older Louisa Durrell or Line Of Duty's DCI Denton if she's had her lips done. 

While she might receive some offensive comments if she is pictured bare-faced out and about, Keeley said she finds it easy to shrug the negative remarks off and doesn't bother worrying about them.  

Keeley's latest film Scoop was released on Netflix on Friday in a dramatisation of the notorious Newsnight interview between a disgraced Prince Andrew and journalist Emily Maitlis.

The actress plays Prince Andrew's assistant Amanda Thirsk in the film adaptation, who had been working for the Duke of York for seven years at the time of interview. 

Based on the book Scoops, by Sam McAlister, the film captures the tension behind booking the royal for the interview, as well as the tension among the cast during the interview. 

In the infamous interview, Emily discussed Virginia Giuffre's claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under the orders of Epstein.

The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview.

Scoop marks Keeley's return to the industry after she took some time off following a few difficult roles. 

The actress admitted she had had a few tricky jobs and took almost a year off before signing up for Scoop. 

Yet working on the film reinstated her faith in the entertainment industry as she starred alongside Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell and Billie Piper in the adaptation.

Keeley started acting at nine, after winning a scholarship to Sylvia Young theatre school in London, near the council estate behind Marylebone station where her taxi-driver dad picked up fares.