RENEE Zellweger again turned heads as she pulled on a fat suit to film gritty new TV series, The Thing About Pam.

The Bridget Jones actress, 52, has come under fire for the outfit – and for using facial prosthetics – as she portrays serial killer Pam Hupp, who is currently serving a life sentence.

Oscar winner Renee, who looked wholly unrecognisable, was seen wearing the suit underneath a blue, purple and white coloured tracksuit.

She pulled up her black leggings to cover her tum as she strolled out of a property.

The star's hair had been dyed bright blonde and she accessorise with gold bangles.

Renee also appeared to be sporting facial prosthetics to give her a bigger nose and wider jaw.

The scenes for the six-part NBC limited series, filmed in Louisiana, showed snow on the ground as her character tried to move an ornamental Santa Clause.

The Jerry Maguire star is also acting as executive producer.

TRUE CRIME STORY

Pam Hupp is currently serving a life sentence for shooting dead a disabled man.

This year she plead not guilty to the 2011 murder of her friend Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Faria, who was stabbed 55 times.

Hupp is accused of convincing Faria to put her name on her $150,000 life insurance policy and then trying to frame Faria’s husband.

The case was reopened after Betsy’s husband Russell Faria was cleared of her murder and released from prison.

His conviction was overturned in 2015 – two years after he was sent to prison – and later he was awarded £1.47million ($2m) in compensation. 

Hupp was accused of killing Betsy, who was her friend and co-worker, and deliberately framing her husband.

In July this year she took to the stand to plead not guilty to first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges.

Prosecutors believe Hupp is behind Betsy's murder after a number of suspicious details linking her to the killing emerged. 

Attorney Mike Wood alleged that Hupp convinced her friend to switch a £110,000 ($150,000) life insurance policy into her name to make it look like Russell killed her.

The change was made just four days before Betsy was viciously stabbed to death 55 times as she lay under a blanket on the couch.

Betsy had decided to take a rest after feeling weak and lethargic from the chemotherapy session she underwent earlier that day.

FAT SUIT SHAME

The fat suit requirements for Renee's new role have caused huge controversy – with UK TV presenter Vanessa Feltz likening it as an insult as as bad as blackface.

The This Morning star said she was "outraged" after seeing the initial images and continued: "The Oscar winner must be a svelte size 8 in real life, but for her portrayal of 62-year-old convicted killer Pam Hupp, a woman considerably larger than her, she has worn a heavy undergarment to give the impression she is fuller figured.

"Renee is a good actress and I’ve got nothing against her personally, but for heaven’s sake, why can’t a plus-sized actress be hired to play a plus-sized character? It’s like we’re stuck in the dark ages.

Why can’t a plus-sized actress be hired to play a plus-sized character? It’s like we’re stuck in the dark ages"

"This has got to stop — it is really insulting to everyone. It is the equivalent of putting on dark make-up and pretending to be a person of colour in the theatre.

"People think, and quite rightly too, this is an absolutely dreadful thing to do, so why don’t we feel the same when someone wears a fat suit?

"These days there would be a huge public outcry if you did anything but hire a Chinese actor to play a Chinese role and the same for a black actor for a black role, or a Jewish person for a Jewish role."

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