BBC’s Victoria: I walk around naked in front of my boys... and they don’t bat an eyelid!
MOST teenage boys would find it highly embarrassing to see their mother in the nude.
But Victoria Derbyshire has revealed that she walks around naked at home in front of her two sons, aged 11 and 13, who ‘don’t bat an eyelid’.
The BBC presenter – who had a right-side mastectomy and reconstruction after being diagnosed with stage 2 lobular breast cancer in 2015 – maintained that nudity in her home was ‘no big deal’.
The Lancashire-born 49-year-old will join a host of celebrities for an ITV show which will involve ‘a process of disrobing’ similar to last year’s Full Monty, which raised awareness about prostate cancer.
Speaking about her courageous upcoming appearance on the show, she said: ‘This couldn’t be further away from an Instagram post by Kim Kardashian.
‘It’s not just nudity for the sake of it, or for looking glamorous. It’s nudity for a purpose – to say this is what can happen when you get a diagnosis of breast cancer.
‘And this is why it can be OK. And this is what we can do to talk to you about trying to make sure you don’t get breast cancer.’
Speaking to Radio Times, she said: ‘ In my house I don’t have body issues.
‘I have a partner and two boys [radio producer Mark Sandell and sons Oliver, 13, and Joe, 11], I walk around naked in front of them and it’s no big deal.
‘I am happy for them to see what a mum of two who’s had breast cancer looks like.
‘They don’t bat an eyelid. Of course they don’t. I’m their mum. But what we are planning to do [on television] is on a different scale altogether.’
For the routine, Miss Derbyshire, who won a TV Bafta last year, will be joined by stars including Loose Women panellist and former pop star Coleen Nolan, 53; former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton, 38; actress and singer Ruth Madoc, 74; and reality television star Megan McKenna, 25. They have all been touched by cancer and will be directed by Ashley Banjo, 29, from dance group Diversity – who won Britain’s Got Talent in 2009.
Asked how she felt about the ITV show, she said: ‘I’m completely apprehensive, of course I am. I’m not ashamed of how I look, but I do look different to other women, and the idea of revealing that is absolutely nerve-racking.’
The presenter admitted she had broken down in tears during rehearsals when she became overwhelmed by the thought of revealing her body to the public.
‘What was in my head was, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I’m gonna cry,” and then I couldn’t stop,’ she said.
She would not disclose how much of her naked body she will reveal, but she made it clear the show would not be a form of striptease, saying she was ‘horrified’ by the phrase.
Miss Derbyshire was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She documented her treatment in a series of five videos to raise awareness of the illness.
The videos, which included a clip of Miss Derbyshire removing the wig she had been wearing to cover up her hair loss, have been viewed 17million times. The star also confirmed that she and Sandell will get married ‘one day, definitely, because life is short’.
ITV’s The Real Full Monty: Ladies’ Night, airs at 9pm on Thursday, March 29.
‘I am happy for them to see’