16 JANUARY 2003
Nicole Kidman, who has just been voted most attractive woman in a poll of hellomagazine.com readers, has had a rather embarrassing encounter with the inimitable Dame Edna Everage. Appearing on The Tonight Show, the actress hid her face in her hands after Edna reprimanded her for "fondling herself".

Visibly nervous, the 35-year-old kept putting her hands between her thighs as she chatted with the infamous female impersonator. Nicole is well-known for her portrayals of strong-willed, confident characters, but she is notoriously shy off the set and makes no secret of the fact that interviews and premieres make her feel anxious. It was no surprise, therefore, that Nicole was mortified when Edna suddenly ordered her to "stop inappropriately touching yourself".

"She was terribly shy," said Barry Humphries, who plays Dame Edna, after the interview. "And she still had that habit – a rather naughty one – of putting her hands between her thighs."

The actress will have to overcome her shyness when she takes on the role of infamous Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, who was imprisoned in 1997 after arranging high-class call-girls for some of Hollywood's most powerful men.

While Nicole has yet to be confirmed for the role, Fleiss has said the actress' participation was the main reason she agreed to sell her story. The 37-year-old promised that the forthcoming film will be "like Pretty Woman, but with the visual energy and excess of Scarface".