Amanda 'happy' to strip off for less

AMANDA Donohoe, the third leading lady to appear as Mrs Robinson in the West End play The Graduate, said she was happy to disrobe every night despite earning less money than her predecessors.

After the show at the Gielgud Theatre, Donohoe, 38, said she was "terrified" to be following in the footsteps of Jerry Hall and Kathleen Turner who both played the part.

Although rumoured to be earning substantially less than Hall and Turner - who were thought to have pocketed 10,000 a week plus a percentage of takings - Donohoe said money was not her primary motivation. She said: "I can't comment about money because it's so undignified. I am doing this because I love the part and I love theatre.

"I was terrified but we had a week of preview audiences to prepare us. I also had my sister and friends in the audience cheering me on."

TV presenter Ruby Wax arrived halfway through the performance but still saw enough of Donohoe to impress her. She said: "I never saw her in Castaway or LA Law. People told she couldn't act but they were totally wrong.

She was the perfect choice for Mrs Robinson."

Most of the men who saw the play last night agreed that Donohoe had the right credentials to play the role made famous by Anne Bancroft in the 1967 film with Dustin Hoffman - whose part in the West End version is played by Andres Williams.

Simon Cramer, 31, an archaeologist from Finchley, said: "She is better looking in the nude than Kathleen Turner and a far better actress than Jerry Hall will ever be."

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