What not to bare: backlash over toplessness on Trinny and Susannah show

The first in a new series of Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation featured topless women - including the two presenters - from the outset of its broadcast at 8pm.

The programme has been condemned by family campaigners and viewers, who say it flies in the face of broadcasting guidelines.

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According to watchdog Ofcom, nudity before the watershed must be "justified by the context".

But campaign groups said the number of women persuaded to disrobe for the cameras was gratuitous and inappropriate when young viewers could be watching.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine became notorious for their hands- on approach while fronting What Not To Wear.

On the BBC fashion series they had women stripped to their bras to demonstrate their ill-fitting undergarments.

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Their series for ITV went a step further on Wednesday - and provoked a flood of complaints to Internet messageboards yesterday.

One viewer described the programme as "nasty, leaving a bad taste in the mouth" while another said: "This is primetime family viewing. I switched on with young children present and was deeply disturbed by the level of nudity at that time.

"It made for extremely uncomfortable and gratuitous television, particularly when I had to explain it to my children." Another wrote: "They belittle and embarrass their victims."

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The episode aimed to highlight how many women wear ill-fitting bras.

The presenters persuaded a number of women to strip, then described their bodies in highly critical fashion. One victim was called a "dowdy milking machine" while others were dismissed as "sags and bags"

Miss Woodall went topless as she spent a day wearing prosthetic breasts while considering whether to undergo breast surgery.

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Miss Constantine followed suit during a section on estimating bra size by dunking breasts into water.

John Beyer, of TV regulator Mediawatch, said: "I have had a lot of calls from people who were surprised by the level of nudity in the programme.

"The number of topless women in a programme is likely to be very offensive to a lot of people. Ofcom has a duty to protect young people from this kind of thing."

An ITV spokesman said: "The context of this programme fully justified the use of footage of women topless and in bras. The presenters were pursuing a serious subject in an engaging and entertaining way."

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