Brave Becky strips off to bare her soul

Because the radio presenter and breast cancer fundraiser stripped completely naked when she took part in a discussion about body image for a special new BBC podcast.

But she wasn’t alone when she shed her clothes, as fellow Radio Sheffield journalists Jenny Eells and Kat Harbourne also undressed down to their birthday suits for the discussion.

The duo wanted to discuss the subject of nudity to find out why people are so prudish about their bodies and why many people, particularly women, aren’t more body confident.

By recording each episode naked they hope to encourage a more open conversation with their guests - and one that confronts the taboos about nudity.

They were keen to speak to Becky as she underwent a double mastectomy in her 20s 
after genetic tests revealed that she had an 80 to 90 per cent risk of developing breast cancer.

And she is no stranger to stripping off, having posing for various calendars to help raise money for the National Hereditary Breast Cancer 
Helpline charity.

Becky said: “I’d worked with them at Radio Sheffield, they were aware of my story and knew I’ve never been shy about taking my clothes off, but to sit there without a stitch on was one of the strangest things I’ve every done.

“But after a few minutes, we sort of just forgot all about it and it was just a genuine chat between three friends - who just happened to be naked.”

And Becky believes that shedding her clothes also helped her shed her inhibitions and allowed her to open up about all kinds of subjects.

“I think it’s the most frank interview I’ve ever done. I said things to them I haven’t said to anyone before.”

She added that she hoped her interview would help give confidence to other women who have also had - or are facing the prospect of having - a mastectomy operation themselves. But Becky said what most surprised Jenny and Kat was that she was more insecure about how her body looks after having a child then she was about her mastectomy.

“They said my boobs look great - but I can’t claim credit for them - somebody made them!

“I was more worried about belly rolls and how much my thighs spread out!” she said.

And despite admitting having constantly been on various diets when she was younger she added that becoming a mum had shifted the way she thought about her own body.

“Children are like sponges,” she said.

“If they hear you saying ‘do I look fat in this?’ they pick up on it.

“You need to be healthy, but there’s a fine line between that and it becoming obsessive.”

Becky will be playing parts of the interview during her own Radio Sheffield show on Saturday and the podcasts will be available to download for free from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts.