Wish you hadn't told us: Veteran presenter Judith Chalmers confesses to not wearing knickers on TV

In more than 30 years travelling the world for Wish You Were Here? she proudly packed light.

But only now is presenter Judith Chalmers admitting exactly how light.

She has explained that she never wore underwear in three decades of foreign assignments for the ITV travel show.

The 72-year-old presenter said she 'went commando' because she didn't want the outline of her knickers showing through her holiday outfits.

She told ITV chat show Loose Women how interviewer Graham Norton was the man who had unlocked her secret when he once asked her how many pairs of knickers she took on holiday abroad.

'Graham said "Do you take one pair and wash them, two pairs and wash them or one for every day of the week?".

'So I said "I don't take them" and he said "You what?".'

Miss Chalmers said she decided to leave her knickers at home after being warned that the cameras could pick up on the sartorial no-no of 'visible panty line'.

'I was told by the wardrobe mistress that I shouldn't have a VPL - visible panty line.

'So I'm sorry to reveal that after 30 years of Wish You Were Here, I was pantless all the time!'

Despite her extensive travels the mother- of-two admitted she still cannot pack a sensible holiday wardrobe.

'I don't know that I am a very good packer, I still think that I take too much,' she said.

'I follow the golden rule of sticking your shoes in the bottom, and your pants on the top  -  that's if you take them.'

Miss Chalmers, who has always boasted a year-round tan, launched Wish You Were Here? in 1973 and stayed with the show for 30 years. She made no mention of whether her co-presenters John Carter and Anna Walker shared her views on underwear.

The show, which had 19million viewers at its peak, is back on ITV with Miss Chalmers's son, Mark Durden-Smith, presenting alongside Sarah Heaney.

His mother, who was awarded an OBE in 2004, is not the only celebrity to admit to leaving their knickers in their underwear drawer.

Nigella Lawson, 48, made a similar confession last year. 'I don't need to (wear them) because I wear a long skirt,' she said.

LK Today presenter Lorraine Kelly, 48, has also admitted not wearing knickers while broadcasting.

And Dame Helen Mirren, 62, was knickerless when she picked up her best actress Oscar for The Queen last year in a Christian Lacroix gown.

These respectable ladies, however, are not in the most respectable company.

Others who have made a habit of going knickerless - and who have the photos to prove it - include Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

• Did you know?

The phrase 'going commando' dates from the Vietnam War when U.S. Commando officers revealed they preferred not to wear underwear while fighting.