We shouldn’t have to hide our feminine side to be taken seriously

This week’s P.S. cover star is an extraordinary young woman who is as surprising as she is impressive.

Camilla Thurlow, 31, rose to fame in 2017 when she joined the cast of reality TV show Love Island. For the uninitiated, it’s basically Big Brother meets Blind Date. A group of singletons decamp to a villa in Mallorca where they “couple up” and try to win £50k.

With her sunkissed skin and perfect figure, Camilla blended in perfectly with her fellow contestants. Few would believe that just weeks before pulling on her string bikini, she had been wearing altogether less glamorous attire in her job as a landmine clearer in Afghanistan.

It’s a preconception that clearly doesn’t concern Camilla when we chat to her for this week’s big interview (pages 6&7). When asked why she chose to take part in the show she simply said she wanted to challenge herself. It’s a question she gets asked a lot because, let’s face it, bomb disposal expert and reality TV star do not usually go hand in hand.

It reminds me of when Stacey Dooley, known for her gritty documentaries, sparked confusion when she decided to present BBC3 make-up show, Glow-up. Stacey quipped at the time: “The idea that you could be interested in the Yazidi community and also in lipstick blows people’s minds.”

I admire women like Camilla and Stacey who refuse to be put in a box. They are not ashamed to show they have a feminine side, and why should they be? The reality is, you don’t always have to act like a bloke to fit into a man’s world.