Kelvin Fletcher: Men should be able to go shirtless even if they're not in shape

Emmerdale

star Kelvin Fletcher has said men shouldn’t feel the need to meet society’s idea of a “good physique” to take their shirts off, and admits that he’s self conscious about stripping off when he hasn’t been hitting the gym.

The soap hunk, who has played Andy Sugden for over 20 years, said he has been embarrassed filming recent sex scenes, because he’s had “the laziest six months.”

Speaking to Digital Spy, Fletcher said, “For some scenes I’ll always say: ‘Oh, can I have a t-shirt on there?’ Sometimes I do feel a bit cringey because I’m not in the best shape. People say ‘oh, it’s fine’.”

Referring to his famously adored physique, he said, “You’re taking your top off and it’s going out on national TV. People are going to criticise that and compare it if I don’t adhere to that standard.”

The former Attitude cover star continued by saying, “I don’t want it to be that you only see men shirtless if they’ve got what society deems a good physique, because that’s not right.

“Men should be able to take their top off if they’re out of shape or not. It doesn’t matter – you can still be intimate and semi-naked and attractive to someone.”

He added that the criticism he faces on social media can sometimes be hard to handle.

“People are always going to make a comment, and if they’re not making it in the post office or the pub, it’s on Twitter. It is a great platform for that, but if you’re going to see that then you’ll need to be thick-skinned. I think most people are anyway and you have to anticipate that. There’s no formula – I do my own thing and what’s right for me.”

Here’s a look back at Kelvin’s last Attitude cover shoot in 2011.

Emmerdale airs week nights on ITV from 7pm.

Kelvin Fletcher: Men should be able to go shirtless even if they’re not in shape

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