Bridgerton star makes a rod for her own back...

SHE’S previously complained about the agony of wearing corsets for period TV romp Bridgerton. Now actress Simone Ashley has taken to the red carpet in a bodice with an unusual twist – a giant rod that appeared to be holding up the back.

The feature of her strapless Armani Prive satin gown divided opinion, with one fashionista felling me he thought it looked like a curtain rod.

But other fans thought the 27-yearold looked stunning at the Venice Film Festival on Friday night.

She was attending the screening of Bones And All, a horror film set in 1980s America starring Timothee Chalamet and Taylor Russell as two cannibals who fall in love on a road trip. Despite the unlikely premise, Hollywood bible Variety said fans ‘devoured’ the movie and gave it an eight-minute standing ovation.

In March, Ms Ashley said she was ‘in lot of pain with the corset’ she had to wear for her Bridgerton role as Kate Sharma, adding that she was physically sick after eating a full meal in the garment without realising how much it constricted her waist.