British actress Joely Richardson is surprised by the media attention her lesbian clinch in Nip/tuck is causing - because it's not her first on-screen same sex experience.

The star romances gay co-star Portia de Rossi in the forthcoming series of the cosmetic surgery drama, and the sex scenes have caused quite a stir in the press.

She says, "I have filmed lesbian scenes before with (British actress) Saffron Burrows, so it wasn't exactly new for me. It's hard to say whether I enjoyed it or not. I don't know if you can enjoy filming an intimate scene with so many people around."

And the 42-year-old insists de Rossi's girlfriend, TV star Ellen DeGeneres, didn't mind Richardson filming the raunchy girl-on-girl scenes with her partner.

She adds, "Ellen came on set to watch us film it, so it was all fine. We all get along."