Gemma Arterton, 38, hits the beach in a canary yellow swimsuit as the former Bond girl unwinds on a summer break to Sardinia

When in Sardinia, do as the Sardinians appeared to be the motto as Gemma Arterton visited a local beach on the Italian island during her latest working holiday. 

The British actress is currently overseas for the seventh annual Filming Italy Sardegna festival, a curtain-raiser for the country's summer season of TV and cinema. 

But the glamorous red carpet gowns were left at home on Monday as Arterton, 38, unwound in a canary yellow swimsuit during her trip to Sardinian capital Cagliari. 

The actress, who found fame as doomed secret agent Strawberry Fields in James Bond thriller Quantum Of Solace, showed off her physique as she paddled in the Mediterranean with a female friend. 

With temperatures soaring across the Italian peninsula, Arterton protected herself from the searing heat beneath a large, wide-brimmed hat. 

The Filming Italy festival will showcase more than 70 international and Italian films, TV series, documentaries before its conclusion on June 25. 

Arterton, who has been a regular red carpet fixture at the event, flew to Italy after filming scenes for new film Funny Woman 2 in Manchester. 

She was dressed in 1960s raincoat on the set of Funny Woman 2 as she filmed demonstration scenes in Manchester.

Arterton wore a shiny blue double breasted vinyl mac, while her dark hair was hidden under a bright blonde wig, which she covered with a vintage green baker boy hat.

Arterton plays the lead role of Barbara Parker in Funny Woman 2, which is a Sky TV adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel Funny Girl.

The first series followed Barbara's journey as she went from a Blackpool beauty queen to comedy star, named Sophie Straw, while dealing with the male-dominated sitcom industry present in 1960s London.

Series two sees her on a high as she is the nation's favourite TV comedy star, with a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise.

But trouble is just round the corner as Dennis's divorce will take three years, Sophie's new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret.

Sophie escapes the turmoil by taking a leading role in a film opposite a glamorous French movie heart-throb.

The film is a hit and Sophie's slick new American agent offers her a fresh start in Hollywood.

But Sophie returns to London, determined to get the gang back together and to create a new show which reflects her real life, challenges outdated cultural conventions and proves that she and her mates are Funny Women. 

Speaking about series two, Morwenna Banks, the writer and executive producer on the show said: 'It's a thrill to dive back into the world of 1960's London - with the extraordinary cast and crew of Funny Woman series two.

'Thanks to the genius of Gemma Arterton as Nick Hornby's heroine Sophie Straw - a whole host of new guest stars have joined us.

'We welcome stellar performances from Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan, Roisin Conaty and many more …Tune in Turn On and don't Drop Out'.

Arterton opened up about how she felt an instant affinity for the role to MailOnline last year, saying: 'Barbara is such a great character and it was an iconic time for comedy, for culture.

'More edgy working-class humour started to come through, and for a woman to be in that world was unusual at that time.

'I could hear her voice in my head, so when I was sent the script for the pilot episode it felt serendipitous.'

Arterton spoke about how hard it was for women, especially those with working-class backgrounds and northern accents to break through in the comedy industry.

She explained: 'In America they had I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but we didn't have any women leading their own shows until the 70s and 80s when Victoria Wood and Jennifer Saunders started coming through.

'Comedy was particularly sexist, and women were just accessories. The roles they got were the sexualised Benny Hill or Carry On parts. It was quite extraordinary for a woman to make it in comedy in the UK in the 60s.'

Speaking about her own struggles, she admitted: 'People judge you by how you talk. There have been times I've not got jobs because it was thought I wasn't posh enough.

'Sometimes there are characters you have an affinity with, and Barbara is one of them. It felt natural to play her, and there's a lot of stuff in there that I got to let out.

'Things are way better than they were but there's still an undercurrent of the things Barbara was up against, because oldschool people still work in this industry.

'Hopefully lots of people will be able to relate to that because it's not just this industry that's affected.

'One of the things Barbara struggles with is people judging her physically rather than on what she can do, and that happens a lot with women in the workplace.'