Naked Attraction
Naked Attraction might court negative press - but the show's message is wholly positive, says host Anna Richardson. She tells Gemma Dunn how it continues to prompt an important conversation
There are few people that haven't seen - or at least heard of - Naked Attraction.
Since its launch in 2016, the Channel 4 dating series has not only raised eyebrows - and a fair few heartbeats - by asking its hopefuls to strip off in the quest for true love, but more importantly, it's opened up a conversation about gender, sexuality and body confidence.
So much so, in fact, that people now can't get enough of the discussion, insists its host Anna Richardson. Even in the most unlikely of places.
"This weekend I was doing some charity work for an orchestra that works with underprivileged kids, and I was attending something with the household cavalry," begins The Sex Education Show star, 47.
"And somebody within the band came up and said, 'Oh, we're not going to be performing naked...'," she recalls, with a laugh. "I just thought, ' Oh my God, this is somebody who works for the royal household, and even they're watching Naked Attraction!'"
"That's what surprises me," admits Richardson, who says much of the feedback comes from middle-aged or older viewers. "Everybody secretly watches it. They might make out that they don't, but everybody has seen it."
For the handful of people who haven't, however, we should really recap on how the daring show works.
Each week, one person - dubbed ' the picker' - whittles down a group of six naked potential suitors, one body part at a time, based on what they find least attractive.
Only when they're left with the final two will they bare themselves, and make a final decision as to who they will whisk off on a fully-clothed date.
Think that's a lot to digest? The latest series - the third to date - promises to deliver a bigger and better run than ever.
"We've moved it on in terms of the contributors and the picker," begins Richardson, who claims her Naked Attraction role is her favourite to date.
"So, as always, we've got people of all shapes, sizes, genders and sexuality, but get this - we've also got a non-binary pan-sexual picker round.
"In this day and age of everybody being gender and sexually fluid, you've got to start getting your head around people not wishing to be labelled," she reasons.
"We've also got someone who's got cystic fibrosis; we've got somebody with excess body hair, which is quite unusual in this day and age.
"We've got an older guy who has found his wild side as a new single man; we've got a virgin who is looking to pop his cherry on the series," she goes on.
"And then really interestingly, we've got a polyamorous couple looking for a third person to join their relationship."
Confessing nothing shocks her anymore - "I've done a lot of shows around sex and relationships; you just become completely inured to the whole thing" - Shropshire-born Richardson is the ideal choice for the forward-thinking edit.
But she's more than aware others don't always share her liberal views - at least not without question.
"We knew that [Naked Attraction] was going to be controversial, but as long as you're being controversial for the right reasons, I have absolutely no problem with it," says the regular Loose Women panellist.
"The reason I agreed to do it was because it opens a conversation around sex, sexuality and identity, and that's really important."
She follows: "Every single person that has taken part in Naked Attraction has come off set and said, ' I really enjoyed that. That's made me feel a million dollars', because if you can stand naked in front of an entire crew of people and three million people watching you, then you can rule the world."
Would she consider baring all in the name of love, too?
"I wouldn't," she answers honestly. "But do you know what? It just says something about my age, maybe, because I haven't really been single for any length of time.
"I've been fortunate enough to have always been in a relationship and I think back when I was 18 - I mean, we're talking 1988 - and there just wouldn't have been this kind of show," says Richardson, who has been in a relationship with presenter Sue Perkins since 2013.
"So culturally, I can't conceive of it, whereas I think if I was a millennial now, then maybe I would, yeah."
Living out her private life in the public eye, meanwhile, can be tricky.
"You totally forget that people know who you are - I forget that all the time," she confides.
"And I am a real one for sitting around in my pants and wandering off to the local shop with no make-up on, so you do get taken by surprise that people will stop you.
"But I generally don't mind; I love getting feedback," she says. "I love the fact that people feel that they can come and say 'hi' to us both and I would never want that to change."
How about working with Perkins - is that an option?
"I would love to," responds Richardson, who began her career on Nineties hit The Big Breakfast. "But Sue is a little bit more reticent, just because she's got more to lose in a way, I suppose.
"I also think she feels that she works with Mel [Giedroyc], so it would be a little bit disingenuous if suddenly she and I were doing something," she adds. "She's kind of professionally married to Mel, so I think she feels she'd be cheating if she did something with me.
"But yeah, don't rule it out. We've always said if the right thing came along, then we would definitely consider it."
In the meantime, the popular writer-journalist - famous for tackling taboo topics - has plenty to be getting on with.
"I'm in the middle of Supershoppers, which I absolutely love and Naked Attraction is about to come out," Richardson lists.
"The other thing that takes up an awful lot of my time is my mental health website called Mindbox, which offers therapy and support for people suffering with anxiety and depression.
"I spend an awful lot of my time doing that," she finishes. "So I am very busy."