One of the original Calendar Girls is now helping a new generation of ladies raise cash for good causes.
Tricia Stewart was one of 11 Yorkshire ladies who posed nude – with their bodies cleverly disguised behind baked goods, household items and shrubbery – in the Woman’s Institute calendar.
The now 77-year-old, who came up with the ingenious idea which has since raised £6.5m for Blood Cancer UK, was selected as Miss October for the original launch on 12 April in 1999,
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Now, 27 years later, she is supporting 30 women – aged 19 to 80 – as they take their kit off, this time for the Ladies First Charity Calendar.
Tricia – who was portrayed by Helen Mirren in the film that followed – has also shared tidbits from her time as a Calendar Girl, including what happened to the friendship group after they got famous.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Tricia, who lives in the Yorkshire Dales.
“We couldn’t imagine who would buy them [the first calendars].
“We even joked that whatever didn’t sell, we’d turn to briquettes and burn on the fire.
She explained that the idea first came to her while her friend Angela’s husband, John, was undergoing treatment for cancer, but it soon took on a much deeper meaning.
“Sadly, he died just five months later and that’s when we decided to do it – in his memory and to raise money for charity.
“We didn’t set out to challenge perceptions or redefine the image of older women.
“We simply thought it would be funny and might raise some money.
“Of course, it did change perceptions — it altered how people viewed older women and the WI — but that wasn’t our intention.”
Reflecting on the photoshoot itself, Tricia admitted it was the first time she’d ever been photographed naked.
“I’d been topless on the beach and swum naked before, but it was the first time I’d had my photograph taken like that,” said Tricia.
When asked about the movie, the Calendar Girl added: “The 11 of us eventually split into two groups – five and six – and since early 2001, there have been six of us continuing together.
“The other five stepped away and didn’t want to be involved with the film.
“There’s quite a lot of fiction in the film – I’d say maybe 50% is true.
“The journalist incident is fiction – we don’t and never have had a flower shop.
“We didn’t do that awful advert in America and Angela and I never fell out like in the film.
“You can recognise Angela and me in the characters but most of the others are made up.
Speaking about being portrayed by Helen Mirren, Tricia said she had a positive experience working alongside the actress and the film’s production.
“Helen came to meet us all before filming began to get to know us and hear our story,” she said.
“We were invited on set every day, featured in the ‘village fete’ scene with the actresses and were involved in the promotion of the movie, so we became friends on set and had a great time in Yorkshire, Cannes and London.
“I am very happy with how she portrayed me – I felt she picked up a few of my mannerisms too.”
Tricia’s husband, Ian Stewart, now 77, was portrayed in the film by actor Ciarán Hinds.
She added that the pair got on really well, especially over a pint of Guinness in Dublin.
The original snaps were taken by local artist and photographer Terry Logan, whose wife, Linda, who ended up being chosen as Miss July.
But several more calendars have been produced over the years, with one – released to coincide with the film – seeing six actresses recreating the original poses and the WI women doing six new poses themselves.
During quiz nights at the pub, Tricia found herself on the phone speaking to radio shows in Chicago.
To help cope with the media frenzy, she also enlisted the help of her then-19-year-old daughter, Lizzi, saying: “We launched in the local pub and didn’t expect much but it was huge.
“Everybody wanted to talk to us.
I didn’t have a mobile phone, my husband did.
“All the calls went through to her.
“She’d come back saying, ‘Do you want to do a Daily Mail interview?’ or, ‘Have you heard of Jimmy Young? They want you on the show’.
“She handled it brilliantly.”
Tricia is throwing her support behind the new fundraising effort inspired by the Calendar Girls.
The group of the Ladies First Charity Calendar will strike some cheeky poses for the “sassy and sophisticated” calendar, all in aid of national charities.
It will launch 15th October.
Tricia added: “It’s brilliant how it’s carried on.
“The women taking part now have a really great experience.
“They quickly realise it isn’t really about the nudity – it’s about so much more than that.
“Because we’d joked about it for so long, it didn’t feel sudden [when the originals did the first shoot].
“After everything Angela and John went through, taking our clothes off felt like nothing.
“Without John, we would never have done it.”
The West Midlands-based group, headed up by Tracey McAtamney for the last decade, welcomed Tricia’s support.
Tracey said: “I’m thrilled that the original Calendar Girl herself has endorsed our Ladies First Charity Calendar.
“It’s incredible support from such a true icon.”
Looking back, Tricia admitted perhaps it felt a little outrageous.
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