Charlie Dimmock reveals that she was once told by TV legend Esther Rantzen to wear a bra on air

Charlie Dimmock has revealed that she was once told by Esther Rantzen that she should wear a bra. 

The TV gardener, 54, who appeared on Alan Titchmarsh’s gardening makeover show Ground Force in the Nineties, chose not to wear underwear on the show as she found it uncomfortable. 

However, TV legend Esther, 81, didn’t agree with Charlie’s stance, and warned her that she would forever be labelled as ‘the braless one’.    

Charlie recalled: ‘TV presenter Esther Rantzen said to me, “You’ll be labelled the bra-less one for the rest of your life”.

‘Ground Force was a long time ago, and I have to say, even now, people will bring it up. It is very silly.’

The green thumbed TV personality, who was 31 when she show was on air, would often have to get covered in dirt on the programme alongside co-stars Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh. 

So Charlie decided to scrap the undergarment as a way of feeling more comfortable when working in the garden.  

The flamed haired gardening guru explained: ‘If you’re swinging a sledgehammer, you want to be comfortable! 

‘People say, “Why don’t you wear a sports bra?” But those are not the comfiest things in the world.’ 

Charlie admitted in the past that she finds underwear, even knickers, to be quite restrictive and prefers to go without. 

She said in a 1996 interview with The Mirror: ‘I only wear underwear if I have to get undressed in front of someone.’

She continued on to say that if she did have to wear knickers they would be a bigger size on her because she couldn’t bare tight underpants.  

Charlie now appears in the series Garden Rescue on the BBC with the Rich brothers, where they compete to win over homeowners to use their designs in a garden makeover.