EXCLUSIVE: Daily Star’s Senior Features Writer Layla Nicholson sits down with Naked Attraction’s Anna Richardson to talk about how the Channel 4 show could live on elsewhere
Naked Attraction host Anna Richardson revealed she’s hoping to put the razzle dazzle into the vajazzle in a bid to recreate the controversial programme on stage – after it got brutally axed.
Everything nowadays is being made into a musical or a podcast. And the hit Channel 4 programme where Anna, 54, helps those in the buff find love might not be exempt from the theatre treatment either.
The veteran presenter, who has quite frankly seen it all, thinks that the daring dating show should have another life breathed into it away from the TV screen, where it was culled earlier this year.
Despite Anna commenting there are ‘no plans’ for Naked Attraction to return after 12 series and a flurry of Ofcom complaints, she told us – before the blow was confirmed – that she hopes the universe plays ball and pulls something out the bag.
“Funnily enough there was talk at one point of Naked Attraction becoming a musical, which is just absolutely hilarious,” Anna beamed when asked about the “warts and all” project.
“I still hold out for doing Naked Attraction: Live in the West End. But, that is interesting – who would I want to play the part of me?
“Probably Dawn French. It’s got to be Dawn French, hasn’t it? We probably share the same sort of body shape and we’ve definitely got the same fringe.”
It’s the show that nestled, perhaps uncomfortably, in the hearts of the nation, where an impressively non-squeamish Anna provided moral support to contestants choosing from six singletons – who stood completely starkers in coloured boxes.
Winning over a supposed nation of prudes, the late night dating show raked in 1.7million viewers in its prime, with Brits watching on as the hopefuls were judged bit by bit.
The contestant whittled down their choices as the pane gradually lifted up – essentially revealing a look book of willies and lady gardens – before whipping their own clothes off for the final big (or small) reveal.
If Naked Attraction getting the jazz hand treatment fails and the public is denied fellow fringed icon Dawn French taking on the role as the genitalia commentator, then Anna hopes that one day the show could go on a live tour.
“Totally,” Anna’s voice lit up once again when we asked if she’d like to take Naked Attraction on a live tour around the UK. “Believe you me, this has been discussed.
“It’s something that I’m absolutely passionate about.
“It’s absolutely something you could take on a live theatre tour, so I’m putting it out there to the universe that the powers that be see the sense of this and we could take it around the UK because I think it would just be hilarious.”
Anna believes that Naked Attraction could take on many forms, seeing it as a multifaceted concept that shouldn’t be reduced to an after hours TV show.
Like many reality-focused shows do, such as The Traitors and Big Brother, Anna would love to see Naked Attraction come back as a celebrity version.
She admitted that it wouldn’t be hard to find male contestants as she finds that men are more likely to want to get their prized possessions out – but women tend to be more proud of their boobs, than their bits.
Anna continued: “We have had a couple of people go ‘oh, I’d do that’. I can’t ever get Duncan from Blue off me basically, he was begging to be on the show – and he would be amazing.
“I know that ages ago Scott Mills joked about coming on, I still hold out hope. Strangely, it’s always guys. So I think the boys that are really proud of their willies are the ones that are really keen to get on.
“But I was still advocating for some girls to come on. I think if you’re very pleased with your boobs, then they seem to be more open to it.
“But, it’s mainly the boys who know they’ve got a lot to show off…I think.”
The ‘warts and all’ show provided us with an insight into how we all look a little different, along with Anna’s steely professionalism, passion and wit – in the face of fuzzy bits.
Anna’s presenting career has spanned decades, with multiple pioneering sex shows under her belt – including the aptly named The Sex Education Show.
However, she doesn’t think there’s anything necessarily sexy about getting your bits out – it’s more “funny” and “educational.”
The presenter admitted that she learnt from a young age to be curious and accepting of people – no matter their bodily form or story – much owed to the all-loving vicarage household she grew up in.
“I learned from a very early age to be very curious about people and to be open to their life story and very accepting of them,” Anna said.
“So, that certainly was a defining moment for me, my childhood. I’m just that sort of presenter that is totally unfazed and unbothered by seeing people’s bits and the bottom line is, it’s just biology.
“There’s nothing sexy about Naked Attraction. So, when there was a real human cry when it first came out, people had a breakdown over the fact that, ‘my god, this is the end of television as we know it because we’ve now got this dating show. It’s pornographic.’
“And I can remember really having to go out and defending the show and saying, ‘There is nothing sexy or pornographic about this show’.
“If anything, it’s funny and it’s educational.”
Anna Richardson spoke to the Daily Star after teaming up with Abbott, to tackle “discrimidating” – the term to describe discrimination people face with disabilities and health conditions in the dating world.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
