Carol Vorderman hit the headlines recently for her generous offer of free online maths tutorials for children during the coronavirus lockdown. She rose to fame as the first woman to appear on Channel 4 when it launched in 1982. She fronted Countdown alongside Richard Whitely, until she walked away from negotiations that demanded she take a “90 percent pay cut” in 2008. She was replaced by Rachel Riley, who took over the mathematical mantle and has since become a much loved addition to the show. While Carol hoped her legacy would be the education she had provided to the nation, she has since vented that the public tends to pick up on something else. In April, she moaned that people are obsessed with her “big bum” and despite her attempts to “ignore” the comments, it has overshadowed her career. Unearthed accounts reveal her bottom was a talking point nearly a decade ago too, when she pipped a royal relative in a nationwide competition and was voted ‘Rear of the Year’.
Carol Vorderman is less than keen to celebrate her bottom today but she once proudly posed alongside Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du Beke after winning the ‘Rear of the Year Award’ in 2011.
She joined previous winners Charlotte Church, Denise van Outen and Fiona Bruce.
At the time of the honour, the then 50-year-old stated that she had struggled to accept her curvier frame in the past, which she admitted was a family trait.
Carol told the Daily Mail: “We all have, in my family, what we call the ‘Vorderman bottom’ – a sticky out, bigger-than-normal, signature, of the rear variety.
“It’s been a family joke all our lives – even my lovely brother has one. I know the lines to all the good singalong big bum songs.”
She was reported to have won the poll with a “deluge” of votes, seeing-off potential rival Pippa Middleton, then 27, who had gained notoriety at the 2011 royal wedding.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister figure was commented on after she wore an Alexandra McQueen cowl-neck bridesmaid gown to the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
‘Rear of the Year Award’ organiser Tony Edwards believed Carol beat Pippa to the top spot because of a massive head start in the polls.
He said: “There have been quite a lot of votes for her over the period after the royal wedding, but it was less than six weeks from then to now and a lot of other stars had a lot of time to really ratchet up the votes.
JUST IN: Countdown: Rachel Riley’s huge mistake after replacing Carol Vorderman
“There is no doubt that Carol Vorderman has got many, many more votes.
“The bottom line, if you want to use that expression, is that if you Google Carol Vorderman’s bottom and stand back, there is a mass of websites dedicated to her rear assets.”
At the time, Carol explained that she was “really surprised and flattered” to receive this type of award especially at “this stage of my life” – when she was 50 years old.
She said: “I always suspected there were a lot of people out there who were glad to see the back of me, so this has turned out to be very funny indeed.”
Fast-forward nine years and now the once popular presenter blasted publicity related to her behind because she felt it had outshone her career.
DON’T MISS
Carol Vorderman: Brutal ‘ultimatum’ given to Countdown legend [REVEALED]
Vermeer secrets: How man recreated artist’s hyper-realistic paintings [EXPOSED]
Rod Stewart’s revenge on Elton John after shooting incident [UNEARTHED]
Carol told the Mirror: “One of the sad things is that people think I am only ever talking about the way I look… I just choose to pay no attention to it.”
She explained that one of her life goals was to make an impact on the lives of children from working class and lower income backgrounds.
The star added: “I was a free school meals kid. I got to Cambridge from a comprehensive [school]. That just didn’t happen in the Seventies.
“Now I do a lot of work with kids from a similar background to me. I have my online maths school, I sell I-don’t-know-how-many education books a year.
“But that never gets talked about. Instead it’s, ‘how big is her bottom?’”
Source: Read Full Article