The naked truth about the real calendar girls

An idea about posing nude for charity led some ladies to create a calendar that outsold Pirelli’s that year, says Claire Droney

‘NAKED’ charity calendars are familiar. From soccer referees to farmers, and Ryanair cabin crew to fire fighters and Thai boxers, people all over Ireland are posing nude for charity. Middle-aged Yorkshire woman, Angela Baker, and her friends bared all in a Women’s Institute (WI) calendar a decade ago and spawned a bestselling film and the most successful play to tour the UK, which has grossed £21m.

After four years, the play will finish in 2012, before the amateur rights are released in September.