Amanda Redman had to use a watermelon to practice a surgical scene for \'The Good Karma Hospital\'.
The 62-year-old actress - who portrays Dr. Lydia Fonseca in the ITV drama - had to execute an emergency Caesarian section in scenes airing next month but the fake stomach cost thousands to create, so she turned to simpler methods to perfect the technique.
She explained to The Sun newspaper\'s Bizarre TV column: "The prosthetics were amazing, very realistic, even down to a condom filled with water inside it so that the waters broke.
"But it had to be in one take because they couldn\'t afford too many of these prosthetic tummies.
"Tension was quite high.
"I had to practise the incision for ages with a water melon in my hotel room.
"Weirdly, it has all the different layers that are like a woman\'s pregnant tummy."
The next series of \'The Good Karma Hospital\' will air next month but it was originally planned to be broadcast in 2019.
However, writer Dan Sefton previously revealed the show was being delayed due to "scheduling".
Speaking in October last year, he explained: "It\'s in the can, and I think will be transmitted early next year. We\'ve had it ready for quite a long time, and I think ITV\'s scheduling - they had a lot of dramas to get out, and they wanted to put it out at the right time, so a lot of them are queuing up for the winter slots, so we had to wait our turn.
"But it\'s fine and we\'re very proud of the season that\'s coming, I think ITV are very happy with it as well. I think it\'s a good piece of work."
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