Daily Star Sunday

Sue Barker and mystery of the Athena p ster

- ■ by DAVID O’DORNAN sunday@dailystar.co.uk

TELLY star Sue Barker was in the frame for being the bum-flashing mystery Athena poster girl.

And her Question Of Sport co-host Phil Tufnell was so convinced it was the former tennis pro’s bottom in the iconic photo that he came out and asked her.

He said the TV presenter was pestered constantly about the iconic shot – but she never denied it.

Phil, 55, said: “Perhaps the most famous bedroom wall poster of all time was the blonde tennis player scratching her left buttock, possibly a midge bite.

“I must admit I always thought the woman in the photo was Sue Barker; you couldn’t see her face as she was facing the net.

“The first time I went on A Question Of Sport as a contestant I took the opportunit­y to ask Sue, the programme’s host, whether it really was her.

“She responded that I was far from the first person to have made that assumption, and were she to have received a pound for every time she’d been asked then she’d be a very rich woman indeed.”

The mystery woman in the saucy snap was finally named in 2011 as Fiona Walker.

It was taken by her photograph­er boyfriend Martin Elliot in 1976, when she was 18.

Ex-tennis champ Sue won 15 WTA Tour singles titles during her career in the sport, including a Grand Slam singles title at the 1976 French Open.

The former World No3 went on to become a TV regular, appearing on a string of shows for the BBC.

Sue and Phil were on Question Of Sport together from 2008 until they were both controvers­ially axed last year.

The former tennis champ, who had been fronting the show since 1997, expressed her disappoint­ment when news broke that she was being replaced in her hosting role by Top Gear’s Paddy McGuinness.

 ?? ?? WHAT A CHEEK: Sue was thought to be poster girl. Right, as tennis champ
QUIZZED: Phil Tufnell asked about the rumours. Fiona and her picture
WHAT A CHEEK: Sue was thought to be poster girl. Right, as tennis champ QUIZZED: Phil Tufnell asked about the rumours. Fiona and her picture

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