The whole story behind my naked ambition ... P

EOPLE have been wearing minimum clothes as the heatwave continues but there is nothing quite like the comfort of being naked. Don’t forget I’m a product of the Swinging 60s when no party was complete without at least some of the gathering doffing off and standing around socialising in the nude with studied nonchalance.

These days folk are doing it in more organised settings as naturism grows in popularity. There are an estimated 3.8 million naturists in the UK, although I suppose those living in the more temperate climes of the south of the country have a better time of it than those in the Outer Hebrides.

Being nude is supposed to be good for you. Research from Goldsmith’s University, London, found the longer a person spent naked the better they felt about themselves, their body and their lives.

Many years ago, I interviewed a young lady naturist who spoke of the benefits and I said I was tempted to try it. She invited me to accompany her to the naturist club she frequented at Harrogate.

Only two things stopped me revisiting those nude nights of the 60s: my wife and the fact that it was a rather chilly month of May.

Naturism has more than its fair share of celebrity practitioners.

Helen Mirren has said: “I’m a naturist at heart. It’s so unisexual and so liberating.”

Kate Humble said she enjoyed getting back to nature by taking her kit off and dancing in the great outdoors. When there was no-one about, of course. And Brad Pitt said: “I’m naked all the time at home.”

Esther Rantzen has been a fan of nude sunbathing for years. She told BBC Radio 4: “It just feels completely different. You haven’t got the sweaty bits where your clothes are overheating ... you have got whatever draught or soft breeze there is on every pore of your body. It’s wonderful.”

But back garden sunbathing might offend your neighbours and police in Surrey last year advised anyone planning to go nude to have a word with neighbours first and be discreet.

They also warned neighbours not to use stepladders to look over the garden fence for a better view. “He or she may be committing an offence.”

This heatwave seems a good time to investigate naturism and, if the back garden doesn’t appeal, how about organising a nude night down at your pub or club?

It could provide a few talking points. Anyone game for a laugh?