Nine ‘Loose Women’ panellists have posed in their swimwear without airbrushing or filters, to encourage all women and men to feel confident in their bodies.
The presenters, including Katie Price and Stacey Solomon, also opened up about how they felt about their bodies and revealed the things that had previously made them feel ashamed.
Saira Khan, who has never done a bikini shoot before, said that her upbringing and her experience of sexual assault when she was 13, led her to want to cover up her body.
“I was brought up with the mentality to not draw attention to my body,” Khan explained.
Khan continued: “I battled against my curves when I was younger as I didn’t want boys to notice me for being sexy - I was brought up to never bare my skin in front of men - it took me a long time not to feel guilty for wearing a dress or baring my arms.
“I have talked about being ‘touched up’ when I was 13 years old and that experience led to a disconnect between sexuality and my body.
“I want to say “this is normal’ particularly to women of colour. Forget the airbrushed images you see. This is what I really look like. I’m sticking two fingers up.”
Billboard posters have been put up across the country featuring an unretouched shot of the presenters including Andrea McLean, Janet Street-Porter and Jane Moore, by renowned photographer Bryan Adams.
Some, like Katie Price, are very confident in their skin.
‘I have produced five babies so I can’t knock my body – it’s a proper machine,” she said.
“There’s no body the same – I’ve got scars, they’re good memories. We’re all imperfect, all bodies tell a story. I don’t regret any of it. Everyone should embrace who they are. At the end of the day you should be loved for who you are.”
However for others, even knowing they were in the hands of a photographer who had previously photographed The Queen and Kate Moss, didn’t ease their nerves ahead of the shoot.
“I felt quite panic stricken at the thought of getting my body out in front of myself never mind a rock god,” said Nadia Sawalha.
“Stepping into the studio in my bra and pants was beyond cringe. There I was stretch marks, cellulite and all the battle scars of life for all to see with the knowledge that there would be zero airbrushing.
“And to be honest that’s why I wanted to do the shoot. I wanted to practice what I preach to my daughters. What the hell does it matter what we look like as long as we are smart, brave and kind?”
For Andrea McLean this was the first time she had bared her scars - from her C-sections, previous operations to do with pregnancy and her hysterectomy.
While Coleen Nolan has finally “made peace” with her weight after years of battling with her body and yo-yo dieting.
“I hope other women with body shapes like mine feel they can also be proud of themselves,” she said.
“There’s no perfect person in the world - we all come in different ages, shapes and sizes and life is too short to spend it hating yourself because you not a size 8 or 21 anymore.”
For Linda Robson the shoot was a major challenge as she said she’s “far from body confident” and the only bit she really likes about her body is her nose
“I never normally take my clothes off – even for my husband,” she admitted. “But I think it’s really important to show these pictures to inspire all women to appreciate their body at any age.”
Stacey Solomon wanted to highlight why this shoot is important for both women and men.
“I don’t want my kids to worry about how they look as much as I do,” she said.
“The thing that really worries me is that my nine-year-old son talks about wanting to go to the gym to build muscle. Even the kids’ toys have muscle on them like Batman and Spider-man.
“But what I hope this photoshoot shows women and men is that in most celebrity pictures there has been some form of airbrushing or retouching – so they shouldn’t compare themselves to unrealistic ideals.”
The panel is now inviting viewers to share their own body stories with the hashtag #MyBodyMyStory - some of which will be featured on the programme over the coming days and weeks.
‘Loose Women’ Body Stories airs from Tuesday 2 May at 12.30pm.