KERRY WASHINGTON REVEALS HOW STRESSFUL IT WAS TO FILM SCANDAL WHILE PREGNANT

It's HANDLED!  She successfully concealed her baby bump to play Olivia Pope on the TV show Scandal. But Kerry Washington has revealed that leading a double life during pregnancy was harder than it looked.

'All of last season was a challenge for me, on a few levels,' the 37-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter.'

For one thing, I was going through this amazing physical transition, this physical journey of having a baby, that my character was not going through. And I work very physically. What I do is often grounded in the body.'

 When the Emmy-nominated actress became pregnant, she still had many more scenes to shoot for the hit drama.

Kerry said: 'That meant I had to figure out how to be this woman while my instrument was changing and evolving every day. It was like seeing the keys on a piano jump around on a daily basis. It was tough for me to even maintain Olivia's walk because of the changes.'

Kerry also struggled with the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy while filming.She told The Hollywood Reporter: 'At the same time, everything I understood about Olivia unraveled because of the story lines.'

'The season really broke me. I'm a Type A actor who likes to have it all figured out going in, but suddenly I had no idea where this woman was going to go next. I had to jump in without everything being perfect.

'I felt like I had been in control playing the character, but it all got taken away from me last season. That meant my acting toolbox had to be upgraded. I had to trade in my screwdriver and hammer for a Black and Decker power tool.'

She welcomed her first child, daughter Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha, into the world in April alongside husband Nnamdi Asomugha.

After some time off with her new baby, the actress headed back to work on the set of the TV series that made her famous on Monday.

Kerry kept her slim figure hidden after polishing off her outfit with a black top, skinny jeans and sexy knee-high boots.