Ulrika Jonsson admits 'I loved giving filfthy men a hot flush' in lads' mag photoshoots
Ulrika Jonsson has confessed she loved posing in raunchy photoshoots for lads' mags when she was younger - and she doesn't believe it contradicts her feminist principles.
Former Gladiators host Ulrika Jonsson has admitted she had no problem posing for sexy photoshoots and appearing in lads’ mags when she was younger. She even went on to argue that the photographs had given her a sense of “pride” and “control”.
Ulrika, now 56, was one of Britain’s biggest sex symbols back in the 90s, starting off her career as a weather presenter for ITV’s Good Morning Britain in 1989 at the age of 22. She then went on to host huge shows like Gladiators and 1998’s Eurovision Song Contest.
At the same time, she was also known for modelling Playtex Lingerie and appearing as a team captain on extremely popular BBC TV quiz show Shooting Stars. Speaking about her experiences as a 90s pin-up in her latest column for the Sun, Ulrika discussed the joys of feeling sexy at such a young age.
She wrote: “It’s hard to imagine for some that this 56-year-old bird once featured on the covers of many a lads’ mag in decades gone past. But it’s true. I did.
“Recently I was asked how I felt about having been splashed across the cover and centrefold of them. Had I believed I was being used or objectified?
“Had I considered myself cajoled into stripping off with less than a handkerchief to protect my dignity and spare my blushes?” Ulrika asked.
“As a feminist, had I felt wronged because the pictures would undoubtedly bring on a hot flush in some filthy minded men?”
Ulrika confirmed that the answer to all of these questions was: “No, definitely not.”
“Like many other women who were asked to appear in these magazines, I felt a sense of pride and fun and, moreover, control. And I’m not alone.”
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Ulrika then went on to point out that stars like I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’s Emily Atack, 34, is so proud of her past lads’ mag shoots that she’s even hung the pictures on her wall.
She also referenced TV presenter and musical theatre star Denise Van Outen, as well as S Club’s Rachel Stevens, as former sex symbols who look back fondly on their photoshoots.
Louise Redknapp, Kelly Brook and Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan also made her list of successful women who had previously posed for raunchy magazine pictures.
“Like all these other women, I look back at those pictures with a sense of pride and awe and wonder whether I would have the same courage today,” Ulrika concluded.
