Trinny and Susannah
Encyclopedia
Trinny Woodall
and Susannah Constantine
are two British
fashion advisors, presenters and authors. They originally joined to write a weekly style column in The Daily Telegraph
which lasted for seven years, but they are best-known for presenting the BBC
television series What Not to Wear for five series and then Trinny & Susannah Undress...
on ITV. They have written several fashion advice books which have become bestsellers in Britain and America, and released their own clothing and underwear ranges. Trinny and Susannah have also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
as makeover experts. They are estimated to be jointly worth £10 million. Over the course of their career, Woodall and Constantine have dressed over 5,000 women.
and Susannah Constantine
teamed up in 1994 to write Ready to Wear, a weekly style guide for the Daily Telegraph which ran for seven years. They had previously met at a dinner party hosted by David, Viscount Linley but did not actually like each other at first. They both perceived each other in negative ways: Woodall looked upon Constantine as if she was a stuck-up English aristocrat and Constantine saw Woodall as 'Eurotrash'.
They later became the co-founders of Ready2shop.com
, a dot-com
fashion advice business which ceased trading after running out of funding in November 2000, losing investors a reputed £10 million. During this period, their friendship was almost ended after a heated argument. They later gained their first chance at working on television when Granada Sky Broadcasting signed them up to host a daytime shopping show, also called Ready to Wear. They published their first fashion advice book called Ready 2 Dress but it was an unsuccessful venture and ended in 13,000 copies of the book being destroyed. After a makeover slot on Richard & Judy
, Jane Root
, the controller of BBC Two
, signed them up even after their book Ready to Dress and their internet business Ready2shop.com had failed.
s as tits. The editor of ELLE
, Sarah Bailey, has stated "You just don't expect posh girls to grab your tits, call your trousers 'too clitty' and use words like 'pussy pelmet' but they do. You are so shocked by what they are saying that by the time you have recovered and thought of something to say they have whipped you out of your jeans and eased you into a Lycra cat suit." They have stated that their relationship is more like a marriage and that being total opposites, they balance each other out. They cannot imagine working without each other and have even considered taking insurance out on their television partnership should something unforeseen happen. Woodall and Constantine have been accused of being patronising, but reject these claims.
They gained recognition for their work on the show and won a Royal Television Society Award in 2002 in the category of best factual presenter. They have also given different celebrities makeovers which include Jeremy Clarkson
, Lesley Joseph
, Jo Brand
, Sophie Raworth
and Ingrid Tarrant
. Woodall and Constantine became the faces of Nescafé
in 2003. After success with the ratings on BBC Two
, their programme was promoted to the more mainstream BBC One
in 2004.
Together, they have written several successful fashion books, starting with the book What Not to Wear in 2001, which made sales worth £8.7 million. The book which stemmed from their fashion show of the same name, won them a notable British Book Award
in 2003 for "The TV & Film Book of the Year" and outsold Jamie Oliver
and Nigella Lawson
when sale figures reached a total of 670,000 copies. The book sold 300,000 copies in just fifteen weeks and was also selling 45,000 copies a week at one point. They then secured a £1 million book deal to produce three more of their fashion books, compared to the £10,000 advance they received for What Not to Wear. Their books have since become number one bestsellers in Britain and the United States
and have been translated throughout the world, selling over 2.5 million copies. The books have also appeared on The Sunday Times bestseller list
and The New York Times bestseller list
.
Woodall and Constantine appeared frequently as a makeover experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show
in America where they gave fashion advice and guidelines on how to improve an overall appearance through clothing, often using themselves to illustrate the correct clothing to wear and what not to wear. In 2005, Trinny and Susannah were the contemporary social commentators on the live BBC coverage of The Royal Wedding of Charles and Camilla
. They also voiced a robot version of themselves in the science fiction
series Doctor Who
in the episode "Bad Wolf
" in 2005, which saw the gynoid
s Trine-e and Zu-Zana presenting a deadly futuristic version of What Not to Wear. The robots were prepared to give Captain Jack Harkness
a particularly gruesome makeover. Woodall and Constantine have appeared on Parkinson
a total of three times, as well as numerous other chat shows.
for a £1.2 million contract, and started their new show, Trinny & Susannah Undress...
, on 3 October 2006 which was followed by a second series in June 2007. The first two series saw the pair helping couples with marital problems, where they gave them advice and fashion makeovers to try build confidence and ultimately aim to revive the relationships. Critics questioned Woodall and Constantine's capability of dealing with the serious issues they faced on the programme, but they strongly rejected these claims. Since the transfer to ITV, What Not to Wear on BBC One
has been hosted by Lisa Butcher
and Mica Paris
.
When the internet-shopping company, Littlewoods, saw orders rise by thirty per cent during its sponsorship of Trinny & Susannah Undress..., Woodall and Constantine were made the faces of Littlewoods Direct
in 2006. The duo have since provided twelve pages of fashion advice within the Littlewoods catalogue, compiled a booklet called The Golden Rules which was distributed to all Littlewoods customers with fashion advice to suit all body shapes. They also compiled online guidelines where customers are able to type-in their body measurements and get instant advice on which Littlewoods clothing is suitable for their figure,
and have been featured in television advertisements for Littlewoods Direct. The television advertisements featured them both trying to rob a Littlewoods designer warehouse, but their mission is ruined when Constantine becomes stuck in between the protective bars, prompting Woodall to utter "You and your curves", before they are taken away by security. The 2007 Christmas series of adverts saw them trying to hijack a motored sleigh carrying Littlewoods designer gifts. The £12m television and print campaign featuring Woodall and Constantine is one of largest ever seen for a home shopping and internet-based company. Since the advertisements aired, brand awareness has grown by 13 per cent, whilst total sales have escalated by 18 per cent. The number of visitors to the website has also risen by 56 per cent.
Also in 2006, they launched their own underwear range; "Trinny and Susannah Magic Knickers" which are made of nylon
, designed to flatten the tummy and buttocks
and thighs so they appear slimmer and compact. On 16 October 2006, they appeared on NBC
's The Today Show, giving makeovers to three women and promoted their book, Trinny & Susannah Take on America. In a poll of 3,000 people conducted by Radio Times
, they were ranked as the ninth most terrifying celebrities on television, largely due to their use of direct and frank advice.
On 20 September 2007, they launched their own exclusive Littlewoods Direct Autumn/Winter women's range which consists of trousers, coats and tops and, like their underwear range, are designed to shrink the buttocks, reduce thighs, flatten tummies or emphasize the waist. A series of eight dresses, cashmere knitwear
, faux fur and sequin
ned shrugs also feature in the range. Woodall and Constantine designed independently the clothing items, with Littlewoods advising them on pricing and selling. Constantine stated "If you want to create a waist, there's a dress that's going to do that for you too. We've designed it very much around the female body."
Their newly formatted series, Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation, began to air on ITV in November 2007 and explored the major fashion problems in Britain. The pair returned to America on 5 November and 28 December 2007, where their makeovers on six different shaped women were featured on Good Morning America
. The duo also reported on the 80th Academy Awards
' red carpet fashion especially for Good Morning America in 2008.
They announced a tour to New Zealand
and Australia
in 2007, where they made a series of public appearances at shopping malls owned by the Westfield Group in February and March 2008. During the tour, which included visits to Melbourne
and Sydney
, they performed live styling sessions and gave fashion advice to customers at the Westfield centres. Their appearances at the malls attracted crowds of thousands and the tour finished on 8 March 2008. Woodall and Constantine also appeared on The Morning Show
hosted by Kylie Gillies
and Larry Emdur
, to give one of the viewers a complete makeover. They currently write a weekly column for The Sun
in Britain.
In a filmed stunt for their new show, The Great British Body, which was broadcast in June 2008 on ITV, Woodall and Constantine stripped naked with 300 others on a Sussex hillside to create a giant living sculpture.
On 31 January 2009, their new show Making over America with Trinny and Susannah, premiered on TLC.
The duo returned again to Australia in March 2009 for a series of appearances at Westfield shopping centres on behalf of the Westfield Group. Similar to their last Australian tour, they gave live styling sessions and gave fashion advise on stages at several Westfield centres from 26 March to 3 April. Their popularity was just as strong as it was in 2007. Before their first appearance on 3 April at Westfield Parramatta
in Sydney, Woodall and Constantine returned to appear on Australia's most popular morning variety show The Morning Show
giving hosts Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur styling tips. In one segment, the duo made over an old dress Gillies had bought into the show. The duo decided to give the dress a more plunging neckline, and while ripping the dress down the middle from the neck, Gillies began panicking, thinking they were tearing the entire dress off, making for an embarrassing moment for Gillies while on live television.
on 21 August 2009.
they are currently taping a show called Trinny & Susannah: Mission Flanders. The first episode aired on 24 March 2010.
"The cast consists of professional actors and standup comics, the dialogue is part-scripted, part-ad-libbed, and the overall effect is weirdly postmodern and surprisingly successful. The biggest surprise of all is Trinny and Susannah's acting ability, which is astonishingly convincing, even though, as they cheerfully point out, they're only playing hyperbolised versions of themselves."
Celebrity cameos are to include Lulu, David Guest, DJ Neil Fox, Vanessa Feltz and The Scissor Sisters.
in March 2011, doing makeover for 100 participants of the show. The programme is airing on Channel 10
.
Following the programme's success, a second series has been announced.
In the end of March and the beginning of April 2011 Trinny and Susannah toured across Poland
, doing makeover for women and men in the country's four biggest cities. The eight-episode show will start airing on 21 April 2011 on TVN Style
.
who made cartoon versions of Woodall and Constantine giving Santa Claus
a makeover, where they stripped him of his red suit and added a casual shirt and trousers. Avid Merrion's Bo' Selecta!
took to portraying them as lesbians. In an interview, despite being lampooned on Bo' Selecta!, they commented that the portrayal was a compliment as they often feel women's breasts during makeovers on their show.
In an episode of the last series of French & Saunders
comedy series, Woodall and Constantine were mentioned as being "bullies" in a Celebrity Grading Report sketch where Dawn French was the headmaster of a celebrity school where she had to write comments on various celebrities. Woodall and Constantine were similarly depicted in the comic Viz in a cartoon strip as being bullies that picked on children who wore NHS
glasses and second-hand clothing. On seeing the magazine edition, they threatened to sue the comic.
In 2006, on Gordon Ramsay
's The F-Word
, Ramsay named his two pigs Trinny and Susannah after Woodall and Constantine, which the duo found highly amusing.
Trinny Woodall
Trinny Woodall is an English fashion advisor and designer, television presenter and author. She was raised in a wealthy family and was privately educated...
and Susannah Constantine
Susannah Constantine
Susannah Caroline Constantine is an English fashion journalist, advisor, television presenter, author and designer. Her second book, entitled What Not to Wear, has won her a prestigious British Book Award and sold 670,000 copies....
are two British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fashion advisors, presenters and authors. They originally joined to write a weekly style column in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
which lasted for seven years, but they are best-known for presenting the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series What Not to Wear for five series and then Trinny & Susannah Undress...
Trinny & Susannah Undress...
Trinny & Susannah Undress... is a British reality makeover and fashion-themed television programme on ITV featuring fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine....
on ITV. They have written several fashion advice books which have become bestsellers in Britain and America, and released their own clothing and underwear ranges. Trinny and Susannah have also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
as makeover experts. They are estimated to be jointly worth £10 million. Over the course of their career, Woodall and Constantine have dressed over 5,000 women.
Early years
Trinny WoodallTrinny Woodall
Trinny Woodall is an English fashion advisor and designer, television presenter and author. She was raised in a wealthy family and was privately educated...
and Susannah Constantine
Susannah Constantine
Susannah Caroline Constantine is an English fashion journalist, advisor, television presenter, author and designer. Her second book, entitled What Not to Wear, has won her a prestigious British Book Award and sold 670,000 copies....
teamed up in 1994 to write Ready to Wear, a weekly style guide for the Daily Telegraph which ran for seven years. They had previously met at a dinner party hosted by David, Viscount Linley but did not actually like each other at first. They both perceived each other in negative ways: Woodall looked upon Constantine as if she was a stuck-up English aristocrat and Constantine saw Woodall as 'Eurotrash'.
They later became the co-founders of Ready2shop.com
Ready2shop.com
Ready2shop.com was a British dot-com fashion advice business co-founded in November 1999 by fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. Backed by venture capital from J.H. Whitney & Co. and Atlas Venture, the business ceased trading after running out of funding following major cuts in...
, a dot-com
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
fashion advice business which ceased trading after running out of funding in November 2000, losing investors a reputed £10 million. During this period, their friendship was almost ended after a heated argument. They later gained their first chance at working on television when Granada Sky Broadcasting signed them up to host a daytime shopping show, also called Ready to Wear. They published their first fashion advice book called Ready 2 Dress but it was an unsuccessful venture and ended in 13,000 copies of the book being destroyed. After a makeover slot on Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
, Jane Root
Jane Root
Jane Root is a creative executive in the media industry, who has run major television networks on both sides of the Atlantic...
, the controller of BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, signed them up even after their book Ready to Dress and their internet business Ready2shop.com had failed.
2001-2005: What Not to Wear era
After they were signed to BBC Two, they became the hosts and fashion advisors for five series of the BBC style series What Not to Wear in 2001, where they used their knowledge on fashion and harsh comments to reform the appearances and style of the participants on the show. The duo became instantly renowned for their poking and prodding of the contestants, their straight-talking advice, and frequently referring to breastBreast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s as tits. The editor of ELLE
Elle
Elle may refer to:*Elle, Central African Republic*Elle , a fashion publication*Ellé, a river in France*Elle , a female given name*Elle , a Sri Lankan game similar to baseball*Ælle of Sussex, a Saxon king...
, Sarah Bailey, has stated "You just don't expect posh girls to grab your tits, call your trousers 'too clitty' and use words like 'pussy pelmet' but they do. You are so shocked by what they are saying that by the time you have recovered and thought of something to say they have whipped you out of your jeans and eased you into a Lycra cat suit." They have stated that their relationship is more like a marriage and that being total opposites, they balance each other out. They cannot imagine working without each other and have even considered taking insurance out on their television partnership should something unforeseen happen. Woodall and Constantine have been accused of being patronising, but reject these claims.
They gained recognition for their work on the show and won a Royal Television Society Award in 2002 in the category of best factual presenter. They have also given different celebrities makeovers which include Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, Lesley Joseph
Lesley Joseph
Lesley D Joseph is an English actress and broadcaster.-Life and career:Joseph was born in Northampton. She is best known for starring in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather from 1989–1998, in which she played Dorien Green, the Jewish next-door neighbour of the main characters Sharon and Tracy...
, Jo Brand
Jo Brand
Josephine Grace "Jo" Brand is a BAFTA winning British comedian, writer, and actor.- Early life :Jo Brand was born 23 July 1957 in Wandsworth, London. Her mother was a social worker. Brand is the middle of three children, with two brothers...
, Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
and Ingrid Tarrant
Ingrid Tarrant
Ingrid Dupre Tarrant is an English broadcaster and former wife of Chris Tarrant. She was educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey and has presented such programmes as TV Mail, Wish You Were Here? and This Morning...
. Woodall and Constantine became the faces of Nescafé
Nescafé
Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in the form of many different products. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé's flagship powdered coffee product was introduced in Switzerland on April 1, 1938 after being developed for seven or eight years...
in 2003. After success with the ratings on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, their programme was promoted to the more mainstream BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in 2004.
Together, they have written several successful fashion books, starting with the book What Not to Wear in 2001, which made sales worth £8.7 million. The book which stemmed from their fashion show of the same name, won them a notable British Book Award
British Book Awards
The Galaxy National Book Awards are a series of British literary awards focused on the best UK writers and their works, as selected by an academy of members from the British book publishing industry...
in 2003 for "The TV & Film Book of the Year" and outsold Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
and Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Lawson is the daughter of Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa Salmon, whose family owned the J. Lyons and Co. empire...
when sale figures reached a total of 670,000 copies. The book sold 300,000 copies in just fifteen weeks and was also selling 45,000 copies a week at one point. They then secured a £1 million book deal to produce three more of their fashion books, compared to the £10,000 advance they received for What Not to Wear. Their books have since become number one bestsellers in Britain and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and have been translated throughout the world, selling over 2.5 million copies. The books have also appeared on The Sunday Times bestseller list
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
and The New York Times bestseller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
.
Woodall and Constantine appeared frequently as a makeover experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in America where they gave fashion advice and guidelines on how to improve an overall appearance through clothing, often using themselves to illustrate the correct clothing to wear and what not to wear. In 2005, Trinny and Susannah were the contemporary social commentators on the live BBC coverage of The Royal Wedding of Charles and Camilla
Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles
The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles took place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on 9 April 2005. The ceremony, conducted in the presence of the couples' families, was followed by a Church of England service of blessing at St George's Chapel...
. They also voiced a robot version of themselves in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in the episode "Bad Wolf
Bad Wolf
"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
" in 2005, which saw the gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
s Trine-e and Zu-Zana presenting a deadly futuristic version of What Not to Wear. The robots were prepared to give Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
a particularly gruesome makeover. Woodall and Constantine have appeared on Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
a total of three times, as well as numerous other chat shows.
2006: Undress... era
Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine both defected from the BBC to ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
for a £1.2 million contract, and started their new show, Trinny & Susannah Undress...
Trinny & Susannah Undress...
Trinny & Susannah Undress... is a British reality makeover and fashion-themed television programme on ITV featuring fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine....
, on 3 October 2006 which was followed by a second series in June 2007. The first two series saw the pair helping couples with marital problems, where they gave them advice and fashion makeovers to try build confidence and ultimately aim to revive the relationships. Critics questioned Woodall and Constantine's capability of dealing with the serious issues they faced on the programme, but they strongly rejected these claims. Since the transfer to ITV, What Not to Wear on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
has been hosted by Lisa Butcher
Lisa Butcher
Lisa Butcher is an English fashion model and TV presenter.Butcher won British Elles first ELLE's Angels modelling competition in 1987, judged by Marie Helvin, Laraine Ashton and photographer Terry O'Neill...
and Mica Paris
Mica Paris
Mica Paris is an English soul singer, radio and television presenter, and occasional actress. Her forename is pronounced Misha.-Beginnings:Paris' roots are in soul and gospel music...
.
When the internet-shopping company, Littlewoods, saw orders rise by thirty per cent during its sponsorship of Trinny & Susannah Undress..., Woodall and Constantine were made the faces of Littlewoods Direct
Littlewoods Shop Direct Group
Shop Direct Group is the United Kingdom's leading online retailer, and its largest home shopping company. It is based in the Speke area of the city of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England...
in 2006. The duo have since provided twelve pages of fashion advice within the Littlewoods catalogue, compiled a booklet called The Golden Rules which was distributed to all Littlewoods customers with fashion advice to suit all body shapes. They also compiled online guidelines where customers are able to type-in their body measurements and get instant advice on which Littlewoods clothing is suitable for their figure,
and have been featured in television advertisements for Littlewoods Direct. The television advertisements featured them both trying to rob a Littlewoods designer warehouse, but their mission is ruined when Constantine becomes stuck in between the protective bars, prompting Woodall to utter "You and your curves", before they are taken away by security. The 2007 Christmas series of adverts saw them trying to hijack a motored sleigh carrying Littlewoods designer gifts. The £12m television and print campaign featuring Woodall and Constantine is one of largest ever seen for a home shopping and internet-based company. Since the advertisements aired, brand awareness has grown by 13 per cent, whilst total sales have escalated by 18 per cent. The number of visitors to the website has also risen by 56 per cent.
Also in 2006, they launched their own underwear range; "Trinny and Susannah Magic Knickers" which are made of nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
, designed to flatten the tummy and buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
and thighs so they appear slimmer and compact. On 16 October 2006, they appeared on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Today Show, giving makeovers to three women and promoted their book, Trinny & Susannah Take on America. In a poll of 3,000 people conducted by Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
, they were ranked as the ninth most terrifying celebrities on television, largely due to their use of direct and frank advice.
2007–present: Undress the Nation era
Their latest book to date, The Body Shape Bible, was published on 18 September 2007. Prior to writing The Body Shape Bible, Trinny and Susannah conducted a survey on women that helped them to identify the twelve most common body shapes which they would then feature in their fashion advice book. They gave the shapes different names that include 'apple', 'brick', 'pencil' and 'lollipop'. The new book is aimed to help women decipher what particular shape they are, and then proceeds to give fashion guidelines according to each individual shape. An 'apple' for instance, is classed as a woman who is round but has breasts that are smaller than her stomach as the weight is carried around the middle. They have also donated a few pages to highlight their own fashion faux-pas from the past.On 20 September 2007, they launched their own exclusive Littlewoods Direct Autumn/Winter women's range which consists of trousers, coats and tops and, like their underwear range, are designed to shrink the buttocks, reduce thighs, flatten tummies or emphasize the waist. A series of eight dresses, cashmere knitwear
Cashmere wool
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from Cashmere and other types of goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is fine in texture, and strong, light, and soft. Garments made from it provide excellent...
, faux fur and sequin
Sequin
Sequins are disk-shaped beads used for decorative purposes. They are available in a wide variety of colors and geometrical shapes. Sequins are commonly used on clothing, jewelry, bags, shoes and lots of other accessories. Large sequins, fastened only at the top, have been used on billboards and...
ned shrugs also feature in the range. Woodall and Constantine designed independently the clothing items, with Littlewoods advising them on pricing and selling. Constantine stated "If you want to create a waist, there's a dress that's going to do that for you too. We've designed it very much around the female body."
Their newly formatted series, Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation, began to air on ITV in November 2007 and explored the major fashion problems in Britain. The pair returned to America on 5 November and 28 December 2007, where their makeovers on six different shaped women were featured on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. The duo also reported on the 80th Academy Awards
80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
' red carpet fashion especially for Good Morning America in 2008.
They announced a tour to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2007, where they made a series of public appearances at shopping malls owned by the Westfield Group in February and March 2008. During the tour, which included visits to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, they performed live styling sessions and gave fashion advice to customers at the Westfield centres. Their appearances at the malls attracted crowds of thousands and the tour finished on 8 March 2008. Woodall and Constantine also appeared on The Morning Show
The Morning Show (TV program)
The Morning Show is an Australian morning talk show that premiered on the Seven Network on 18 June 2007. The show airs between 9am and 11:30am weekdays and follows Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise, with both programs closely interlinked....
hosted by Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies is a television presenter for the Seven Network based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She currently co-hosts The Morning Show with Larry Emdur.-Career:...
and Larry Emdur
Larry Emdur
Larry Emdur is an Australian television personality. He is currently co-hosting Saturday's Weekend Sunrise alongside Samantha Armytage....
, to give one of the viewers a complete makeover. They currently write a weekly column for The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
in Britain.
In a filmed stunt for their new show, The Great British Body, which was broadcast in June 2008 on ITV, Woodall and Constantine stripped naked with 300 others on a Sussex hillside to create a giant living sculpture.
On 31 January 2009, their new show Making over America with Trinny and Susannah, premiered on TLC.
The duo returned again to Australia in March 2009 for a series of appearances at Westfield shopping centres on behalf of the Westfield Group. Similar to their last Australian tour, they gave live styling sessions and gave fashion advise on stages at several Westfield centres from 26 March to 3 April. Their popularity was just as strong as it was in 2007. Before their first appearance on 3 April at Westfield Parramatta
Westfield Parramatta
Westfield Parramatta is a shopping centre in Parramatta, a city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The centre is owned and managed by The Westfield Group. It has a net leasable area of approximately 137,269m² and contains 488 shops built over five levels, making it Australia's fourth...
in Sydney, Woodall and Constantine returned to appear on Australia's most popular morning variety show The Morning Show
The Morning Show (TV program)
The Morning Show is an Australian morning talk show that premiered on the Seven Network on 18 June 2007. The show airs between 9am and 11:30am weekdays and follows Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise, with both programs closely interlinked....
giving hosts Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur styling tips. In one segment, the duo made over an old dress Gillies had bought into the show. The duo decided to give the dress a more plunging neckline, and while ripping the dress down the middle from the neck, Gillies began panicking, thinking they were tearing the entire dress off, making for an embarrassing moment for Gillies while on live television.
2009: Making Over America on TLC
Trinny and Susannah have been travelling across the United States to find women who need help getting themselves a fashion makeover. Its first episode aired on TLCTLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
on 21 August 2009.
2010: In Belgium
For VitayaVitaya
Vitaya is a Flemish television station. The station got its license for 9 years in 1999 and it started to broadcast on 25 August 2000.Vitaya can be seen on Flemish cable and satellite services...
they are currently taping a show called Trinny & Susannah: Mission Flanders. The first episode aired on 24 March 2010.
2010: "Trinny and Susannah - What They Did Next"
The Guardian reports Trinny and Susannah are in a new online series - produced by Studios - "What Trinny and Susannah Did Next is a mockumentary – an elaborately knowing spoof – part Alan Partridge, part The Office, part The Thick of It. There's even a touch of Borat.""The cast consists of professional actors and standup comics, the dialogue is part-scripted, part-ad-libbed, and the overall effect is weirdly postmodern and surprisingly successful. The biggest surprise of all is Trinny and Susannah's acting ability, which is astonishingly convincing, even though, as they cheerfully point out, they're only playing hyperbolised versions of themselves."
Celebrity cameos are to include Lulu, David Guest, DJ Neil Fox, Vanessa Feltz and The Scissor Sisters.
2011: Israel and Poland
Trinny and Susannah were touring IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in March 2011, doing makeover for 100 participants of the show. The programme is airing on Channel 10
Nana 10
Nana 10 , previouslly Nana , is an Israeli Web portal, one of the biggest in Israeli web media. The website is owned by Israeli web and communication company 013 Netvision, and Israeli news Channel 10, and consist of Internet forums, which it is especially known for, news, culture sections, an...
.
Following the programme's success, a second series has been announced.
In the end of March and the beginning of April 2011 Trinny and Susannah toured across Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, doing makeover for women and men in the country's four biggest cities. The eight-episode show will start airing on 21 April 2011 on TVN Style
TVN Style
TVN Style is a Polish channel aimed at women featuring the latest in fashion, health and beauty. It launched in August 2004 and is a part of the TVN network, owned by ITI Group.-Line-up:...
.
Popular culture
Woodall and Constantine have been parodied many times on comedy impression programmes. Alistair McGowan's Big Impression took to spoofing their personalities on What Not to Wear, as did 2DTV2DTV
2DTV is a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, directed by Tim Searle.2DTV employs the same satirical style as Spitting Image, but using animation rather than puppets. The animation was produced on computer, frequently with animators working up...
who made cartoon versions of Woodall and Constantine giving Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
a makeover, where they stripped him of his red suit and added a casual shirt and trousers. Avid Merrion's Bo' Selecta!
Bo' Selecta!
Bo' Selecta! is a British sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis, known for its often deeply surreal, abstract toilet humour, which lampoons popular culture. It was broadcast on Channel 4 and ran for three series between 2002 and 2004, spawning several spin-offs...
took to portraying them as lesbians. In an interview, despite being lampooned on Bo' Selecta!, they commented that the portrayal was a compliment as they often feel women's breasts during makeovers on their show.
In an episode of the last series of French & Saunders
French & Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
comedy series, Woodall and Constantine were mentioned as being "bullies" in a Celebrity Grading Report sketch where Dawn French was the headmaster of a celebrity school where she had to write comments on various celebrities. Woodall and Constantine were similarly depicted in the comic Viz in a cartoon strip as being bullies that picked on children who wore NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
glasses and second-hand clothing. On seeing the magazine edition, they threatened to sue the comic.
In 2006, on Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
's The F-Word
The F-Word
The F Word is a British food magazine and cooking show featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme is made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4...
, Ramsay named his two pigs Trinny and Susannah after Woodall and Constantine, which the duo found highly amusing.
External links
- Trinny and Susannah's website
- Trinny and Susannah Undress at itv.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...
- All the latest news on Trinny and Susannah's TV shows
- Trinny and Susannah: What They Did Next