Fergie felt like "rookie" on set

Fergie felt like the “rookie” on the set of her new musical movie Nine.

The Black Eyed Peas singer plays voluptuous Italian prostitute Saraghina in the film, alongside a host of big names including Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Dame Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren and Kate Hudson. Although Fergie enjoyed the experience she found it nerve-wracking and continually worried she wasn’t measuring up.

“Well, of course it’s intimidating, but luckily for me it was a singing role, so I felt very excited,” she said. “As far as being in everyone’s presence, I was just in awe. I was the rookie, just there doing my job to the best of my ability. I wasn’t trying to show my peacock feathers - I was there to learn. I was like a sponge, taking it all in.”

Fergie, 34, found it easy to bond with Kate, 30, as the two had met before but she also grew close to all the other stars. The group would eat lunch together, with several of the women jealous of Fergie’s calorie-stuffed meals – she had to put on 17lbs for her role.

She added to The Attitude magazine: “Everyone would have these light salads and Daniel would have his little dessert of a dark chocolate chunk and a few almonds, but I’d be eating burgers and fries because I was gaining weight for the role. I even sent my assistant out to find microwave enchiladas in London. Penelope Cruz gained weight the healthy way with pasta and protein shakes, but I did not.”