Kate Beckinsale decorates Christmas tree wearing unexpected mini skirt
Kate Beckinsale has been getting into the festive spirit, decorating her Christmas tree in a novelty mini skirt.
The 48-year-old actor has returned to London for the Christmas period and has shared a fun video as she gets ready for the festivities.
The short clip shows Beckinsale climbing a stepladder as she helps add the finishing touches to a beautiful white, silver and gold Christmas tree.
Beside her is a stack of boxes, on top of which sits her cat, Clive, wearing a tiny, red, party hat.
While she's dressed in a black jumper, thick tights and boots, it's the actor's mini skirt that courted the most attention.
Not because of its length, but because it is emblazoned with images of Barry Eastenders.
Read more: Kate Beckinsale didn't see daughter Lily for two years due to the pandemic
Clearly a big fan of the popular character from the British soap, the Guilty Party actor draws further attention to the unique garment by shaking her bottom to the tune of Do You Love Me by The Contours, one of the theme songs from Dirty Dancing.
Playing tribute to her London roots she captioned the post: “You can take the girl out of London #thecontours."
Watch: Kate Beckinsale must have a bath before bed
Needless to say, the jokey clip went down a storm with fans who quickly littered the comments section with laughing emojis.
"Oh my god this is the best thing I've ever seen," one fan wrote, while a second echoed: "That is the best! Random as f**k, and who doesn’t love Baz".
"This is everything," another fan wrote simply.
"Is that Barry from EastEnders on your bottom?" another asked.
Read more: Kate Beckinsale wows fans as she reclines by pool in stunning pink gown
While many of Beckinsale's British fans were able to recognise the soap character, there was some confusion among others with many believing it was a picture of the late Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who played mafia boss Tony Soprano.
For anyone confused about who the image on Beckinsale's skirt might be, several fans were able to confirm it was in fact Barry Evans, played by actor Shaun Williamson.
"Barry is very iconic. It’s a reference basically only English people will get tbh," one wrote.
"Barry from Eastenders was our Tony Soprano," another clarified.
The character of Barry was famously pushed off a cliff to his death by Janine Butcher, played by Charlie Brooks, in 2004 in a classic episode of the BBC soap.
Beckinsale is back in the UK spending time with her mother Judy Loe and stepfather Roy Battersby.
She has shared several videos of the family to her Instagram feed as they prepare to celebrate Christmas, showing off her incredible decorations including her tree and the Christmas gifts for her pet cat.
She also recently revealed in one clip that one of her decorations gives a sweet nod to her daughter, Lily Sheen.
The frosted fir tree was decorated with glittery white and silver baubles, tinsel and toppers – as well as hundreds of fairy lights.
She also added some special, more sentimental baubles, including one with the shape of the letter, L.
"Super super fab tree, why the L?" asked one fan, to which Kate replied: "(Lily).'"
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The Christmas prep comes as the actor recently revealed she wished she'd considered a career in medicine.
Beckinsale began pursuing her interest in acting when she was just 15, but when she was in her early 30s, she found herself questioning her chosen career path.
"I had a crisis at 31, thinking, ‘I wish I’d been a doctor’," she said.
“I retain medical things. I feel like I’d be quite good. Listen, what I am is an actress who people phone up and say, ‘I think I might have a haemorrhoid.’ I can’t tell you the amount of times people come to me.
"I’m obviously not going to perform a digital rectal exam, but I will go through symptoms. So far, touch wood, it has only ever really been chafing. Should you get any chafing, call me.”
The Underworld actor was also recently reunited with her daughter Lily Sheen, 22, after revealing the pair hadn’t seen each other for two years.
The star celebrated her 48th birthday with her daughter after being apart from her only child - whose dad is Beckinsale's ex Michael Sheen - because of the coronavirus pandemic and work commitments.
