Trinny and Susannah's most outrageous What Not To Wear moments from 'saggy boobs' to looking like a 'dog's dinner' - as 'extreme' makeover show is in talks to be revived

It was the 'extreme' straight-talking fashion makeover show that defined a generation. 

And Trinny and Susannah's What Not To Wear looks set to be revived after more than 20 years off screens, marking a return of the iconic TV pair's witty barbs and outrageous quips. 

The programme was launched by the BBC in 2001 and ran for five series to 2005, with contestants getting a £2,000 budget to rebuild their wardrobe with the help of their brutally savage hosts. 

In a new interview, Trinny Woodall, 62, has revealed both she and Susannah Constantine, 64, are in conversations with producers about the prospect of bringing the show back.

But questions of how the series would work in the post-woke world remain, with even the hosts' daughters claiming it would be cancelled if it aired today. 

But at the height of its success, the show pulled in seven million viewers – so just how outrageous was it? We take a look at What Not To Wear's most controversial moments.

Secret video surveillance in 2001: 'I can't believe we got away with that!' 

In series one, Vanessa Lanham was nominated for a fashion makeover – and her husband gave permission for producers to set up a camera in their bedroom to record her getting ready process. 

Even Trinny admitted she can't believe this ever got approved. 

She said on the Dish from Waitrose podcast in 2024: 'The thing that I can’t believe that we got away with was the husband saying, "Yes, you can video record, secretly, my wife getting changed in the bedroom."

'I think Vanessa was our first or second show, and we had hidden cameras to see what she would wear - how she’d get dressed in the morning. 

'I mean, what the editor would have had to look through to get to a place where she was just trying on a yellow top...It’s like, no way'.

Infamous 360-degree mirror: 'Chicken arms, flat chest and frumpy'

Trinny and Susannah were notorious for stripping participants down to their underwear in front of a 360-degree mirror and offering stinging critiques of their bodies and self-image.

The two women would often snipe at each other's supposed physical shortcomings -Susannah's 'chicken arms' or Trinny's 'flat chest', but also at the guests who came to them for a new wardrobe.

They told participants they looked 'frumpy' or like they've just crawled out of bed'. 

2003: Moment Susannah grabs breast of woman as they say: 'She's a fagger, a boozer and a slob' 

Admin supervisor Liz Traves from Aldershot faced a scathing summarising of her style after her friends nominated her for a makeover. 

The show's style gurus focused on the fact that Liz had undergone breast reduction surgery seven years earlier and was still self-conscious about her body. 

'Huge knockers', said Susannah, as Trinny added: 'Bouncing up and down.'  

And after watching footage of her enjoying a night in the pub, they told viewers: 'She's a fagger, a boozer and a slob.'

When they finally meet, after surprising Liz in the street, Susannah told her: 'Here's £2,000 - boy do you need it!

'Before you get your hands on the money, you've got to hand over your wardrobe, your life and these' as she pointed to and then grabbed her breasts. 

Jeremy Clarkson in 2002: 'You have the style of a market trader' 

Jeremy Clarkson appeared on a celebrity episode back in 2002, where at aged 42, he had begun presenting the rebooted BBC motoring show, Top Gear. 

Trinny and Susannah said Jeremy had the style of a 'market trader', to which he hit back calling them 'sweet bullies'. 

The entertaining episode saw the hosts and Jeremy butt heads on multiple occasions after he confessed he had never owned a jumper in his life because people who wear them 'get bullied'. 

Unimpressed by his dirty brogues and ill-fitting denim, Jeremy stubbornly pushed back at their suggestion to wear a pair of brown suede shoes and told them he would 'rather eat my own hair' than go shopping with them again. 

The then Top Gear host then told them he was happy with his wardrobe and considered himself well-dressed.  

 Susannah to Trinny in 2003: 'Look at her t**s, they're down by her knees'

An innocent bystander in the street was the focus for Susannah's acerbic put-downs as the duo hurtled through West London in a convertible en route to their next makeover. 

Susannah audibly gasped as she spotted a random woman chatting on the pavement.

Commenting on her physique, she said: 'Look at that woman there, my God, look at her t**s, they're down by her knees.'

Trinny got her co-star back on track to the task in hand, which is making over Jane Anderson, a 6'1" model who's self-conscious about her height'.

As they drive on Trinny said: 'We're focusing on Jane today, Susannah' to which she got the response: 'I'm sure she got bullied at school' as they discussed their next makeover victim.

Susannah in 2003: 'Her dog and her were separated at birth'

Watching covert footage of Sue Young, a Dame at Eton College, the pair described her as 'short and squat' while watching a video of her at an exercise class, before footage of her with her beloved dog evoked the comment from Susannah 'Her dog and her were separated at birth, weren't they?'

They also questioned her age, with Susannah saying: 'How old is she? She's 40'... to which Trinny replied: 'But she looks older the way she's dressing, Su.'  

Later, during a sit-down chat with Trinny and Susannah, she donned a short skirt and boots with a frilly blouse. 

Susannah told her: 'From the waist down, you're a flirty sexy woman, and from the waist up you're an old frump.' 

Trinny in 2001: 'You look like an old woman trying to look young' 

The BBC intro for this 2001 episode read: 'Trinny and Susannah try to tone down busty Mikaela, who they feel wears a little too little.'

The episode saw Susannah mock hyperventilating at a pink cardigan, shouting 'cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest' at one of Mikaela's favourite tops. 

When she tried it on, Trinny and Susannah stalked around her before Susannah piped up: 'It makes you look old. It's really ageing.' 

Trinny followed up with: 'You look like an old woman trying to look young.'

A dispirited Mikaela asked: 'Mutton dressed as lamb?'

'A little bit. For you that's nearly impossible but you've managed to succeed.'

Susannah in 2004: 'In that dress she doesn't look like she's after commitment' 

A 21-year-old nurse, Sarah, from Humberside, was wearing a yellow dress for a consultation with Trinny and revealed she can't find Mr Right.

She said: 'Everything else in my life seems to be settled apart from meeting that Mr Nice Guy.' 

'In that dress she doesn't look like she's after commitment,' said Trinny as Sarah walked in before adding to her face: 'Maybe that's why you haven't found Mr Right, because of the way you dress? Because you look a bit tarty? Your mum is right.' 

Trinny in 2004: 'Have you had sex? Are you gay?' 

County Durham social worker Lynne, a social worker and fanatical football fan revealed her love of football shirts – particularly Sunderland FC to Trinny and Susannah – only to face a grilling on her sexuality.

'Sometimes you are mistaken for a bloke, aren't you?' said Trinny. 

Described as a 'long-term singleton,' Lynne said her fashion comfort zone is 'baggy jeans and a Sunderland shirt' before Trinny asked her: 'How attractive do you feel as a woman?'

She went on: 'Have you had sex?' to which a clearly uncomfortable Lynne responded: 'Yes. That's a personal question though.' 

Taking no cues at the awkwardness of the chat, the fashion guru followed up with 'Are you gay?'

Susannah in 2001: 'Just because you wear a dog collar doesn't give you the excuse to look like a dog's dinner'

A brave Rev Julie Nicholson entered Trinny and Susannah's lair in 2001 and was given short shrift by the fashion police pair about her away from church outfits. 

The intro saw Susannah glaring at the camera, saying: 'Just because you wear a dog collar doesn't give you the excuse to look like a dog's dinner.' 

The then 49-year-old mother-of-three curate from Bristol was filmed for a month in secret as Trinny and Susannah catalogue her 'sins against style'.

They told viewers: 'Julie is about to hit the big 50, and like many women that age, she has lost her way.'  

Ahead of her makeover, the pair criticised her 'Mrs Mop' outfits and 'pantomime' trousers before working their magic on the woman of cloth.