Coronation Street's Kate Ford bares her behind in bear skin protest

You may know her best as Corrie's killer Tracy Barlow but actress Kate Ford shows, her, er softer side in this ad for PETA with the slogan 'Bare Skin, not Bear Skin' which has been designed to highlight the way that bears in Canada suffer to make the Queen's Guards bearskin caps.

Kate Ford, who makes her return to Weatherfield tonight at grandmother Blanche's funeral, says: "I would never have dreamed of posing nude, but when PETA showed me the footage of the bears being shot and skinned just for the sake of these ornamental Guards' caps, I decided to be brave and show some of my skin in the hope that the MoD will let the bears keep theirs.

"The cowardly hunters even bait the bears with food before ambushing them. When mother bears are killed, their cubs are left to slowly starve to death. This breaks my heart. I think it is despicable of the MoD to use taxpayers' money to fund this cruelty overseas when there are synthetic faux furs available."

The ad is part of PETA's campaign to persuade the Ministry of Defence to stop killing bears for the Buckingham Palace Guards' ceremonial headwear. The ad was shot by ace photographer Karl Grant, and follows a recent campaign for PETA featuring former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.

For more information visit PETA website.