Julia Bradbury - ex BBC “Countryfile” presenter and more recently ITV's “Britain's Best walks” and “Australia with Julia Bradbury” was back on our small screens recently alongside Sir Trevor McDonald co-presenting “Britain's National Treasures” hiking along rugged landscapes wearing the kind of outdoor gear you’d expect a seasoned champion of the outdoors to wear. Our hopes were heightened though by a newspaper interview to publicise the 90 minute national treasure countdown, which showed a naked photograph of Julia on the front page under the headline ‘I walk around the house naked’.
In an interview for the Daily Mirror she was asked about her children's reaction to her nude photograph (see our picture) the previous year as part of her involvement with a ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ anti-single use plastic campaign, laying on 750 strategically placed plastic water bottles - the number that gets dumped in England every minute. She replied that her family had a 'healthy attitude towards nudity' and all of them were very happy with the picture. The headline for the Mirror article was “Happy to be Naked.”
Thinking we’d found a fellow traveller, British Naturism got in touch with Julia who told us, ‘Sorry to disappoint you, but you can’t always believe the headlines you read! Yes, we are unashamed of our bodies at home but it would be wrong to assume we have a fully Naturist house. What I meant in the article is that I’m not shy when it comes to being naked in front of the kids. I think it’s important to have a healthy relationship with our bodies and I don’t want my kids thinking nudity is ‘wrong.’ I wouldn’t describe myself as a Naturist but I don’t have a problem with anyone who is. I am keen on encouraging people to experience - and protect - the natural environment and so I have an empathy with the Naturist community. I’m also involved with charities including Plan UK, which campaigns for children’s rights and equality for girls and their sexual and reproductive health.’
Julia and her team are keen to keep in touch with British Naturism and some possible projects have been discussed. To kick things off, we’re going to be listing some of our naked countryside walks on her website at https://theoutdoorguide.co.uk.