The modern wave of naked charity calendars can be traced back to the now-iconic Calendar Girls of 1999 - a group of Yorkshire women who posed nude (strategically concealed by jam jars, knitting, and baked goods) to raise money for leukaemia research. Their story became a film, a musical, and a blueprint for thousands of imitators. What made their calendar resonate wasn’t nudity. It was authenticity. Ordinary people doing something extraordinary - and a little bit brave - for

Tricia, now 77, famously had the idea for the Alternative WI Calendar, in 2000, going on to sell more than 300,000 calendars and raising £6.5m. As ‘Miss October,’ she was one of 11 plucky Yorkshire ladies, aged between 45 and 65, to pose for the Rylestone & District WI naked calendar, the first of its kind, which inspired a hit movie, West End stage play and musical. The aim had been to raise £5,000 and to have a calendar dedicated to the late memory of her friend Angela Bake

As Ladies First Director Tracey McAtamney headed into her 60th birthday year, she made a promise to herself – to do something both memorable and meaningful. And in the background to the former Coventry Carnival Queen’s milestone celebrations with family and friends, this calendar project has been percolating. She’s also brought 39 plucky members of her networking group, aged between 19 and 80, in on the ‘act.’ Here she reveals a bit more of the ‘Why’ behind this passion proje