Holly Willoughby was told not to wear a bra when she f irst started on television
Young star was ordered to go without so she would ‘be more attractive to male viewers’
HOLLY WILLOUGHBY’S wholesome image has made her the darling of daytime television.
But earlier in her career the This Morning host, now 42, found herself presented in a very different way.
The Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal the younger Willoughby was told by male television executives not to wear a bra so she would be ‘more attractive’ to male viewers. Some years later, Leigh Francis, her friend and former colleague on Celebrity Juice, gave her the nickname ‘Holly Willoughbooby’, which stuck with her into her A-list career.
One close associate of the star said: ‘Before I knew who Holly even was, I saw her without a bra on and asked a director who she was and why she was dressed like that.
They continued: ‘I said “she needs to get a bra on” – it was children’s television. I reminded Holly of it some time later and she said they made her not wear a bra, and that for the shows from 2004 to 2006, Ms Willoughby was put in several risqué outfits for the cameras.
‘She was dressed as a maid, wearing a black short skirt and matching top, as well as a skimpy festive Mrs Christmas outfit. She also appeared in low-cut tops and was drenched in water or gunge while appearing on the programme.
One television insider told this newspaper: ‘It was what it was like back then – young women were told what they should wear and they didn’t say no. Like with a lot of other industries, television was run predominantly by men and young, pretty ambitious women were hired and had to do as they were told.’
Ms Willoughby became a household name in 2006 when she began hosting ITV’s Dancing On Ice with Phillip Schofield. Three years later she landed her dream job when she was hired to replace Fern Britton to host This Morning alongside Schofield. She began her career on children’s show S Club TV before presenting Xchange for the BBC and CCBC At The Fame Academy.