Charlotte Bellamy keeps her unwanted clothes for her 'Emmerdale' alter-ego.

The actress - who plays vicar's wife Laurel Thomas in the ITV soap - was once given a coat by her husband Mungo Dension, which she hated so much she brought it in for her unfashionable character to wear on screen.

She said: "I have a story about the green coat Laurel wears. My partner, Mungo, bought it for me about ten years ago on a trip to New York - it was from the kids department in Gap.

"I was going to throw it away, but thought it'd suit Laurel. I get loads of comments about the coat - everyone hates it. But it's warm!"

The soap star - who was on maternity leave at the end of last year after giving birth to her third child, daughter Teddie Boo Florence in October - admitted going back to work was tough, but one of the bonuses was all the gossip she got to catch up on.

She said: "Days in the pub can be hard - sometimes you're there all day, but don't have any lines. But that's actually when you find put people's deepest secrets, because you're sitting in the back of the shot gossiping."

Charlotte and Mungo also have two-year-old son Herbie and Sunnie, four.