The sight of Richard Madden’s naked form in Bodyguard, the BBC’s hit political thriller, became a national talking point.

But the actor has admitted to concerns about being objectified on screen, saying it detracts from his performance.

Madden plays DC David Budd, a personal protection officer in the throes of an affair with the Home Secretary (Keeley Hawes) he is guarding.

As with Aidan Turner’s topless scything in Poldark and Tom Hiddleston’s bare bottom in The Night Manager, the scene of Madden without his clothes soon went viral.

Asked about the focus on his looks, Madden said: “I worry sometimes about it affecting my job. If people go, ‘Oh, you know, he’s that hunky thing’, then it undermines that actually I’m an actor, and I’m trying really hard to be good at it.”