'I'm proud and I'd do it again’: Sheffield Naked Attraction mum hits back at haters

Helen Hopwood left viewers open mouthed when she appeared on the Channel 4 programme last week – going totally naked on the dating show where contestants strip off in a bid to win over potential suitors.

And despite being met with a barrage of online abuse, Helen, a 36-year-old catering assistant from Norfolk Park, says she has no qualms about appearing on the programme – and says she’s proud of her body and showing it off in all it’s glory on television.

She said: “They don’t know me and they can say what they want about me.

"Life’s too short to worry about what the haters might think. I’d do it again, no problem.”

Despite failing to secure a date on the show, Helen was a firm favourite with viewers – after revealing a tattoo above her private parts with the slogan ‘lick the lizard’ and an arrow pointing towards her vagina.

And she has now explained how she came to get the artwork done.

“All my mates call me Crazy Helen because I live life to the full,” she said.

"I got to Turkey every year and they always play this song called Big Box, Small Box which has the line ‘lick the lizard’ in it. That’s why I got it done.”

Helen says she has now lost count of the number of tattoos adorning her body – and says the response since appearing on the show has brought her plenty of attention.

"I’ve had loads of friend requests on Facebook and plenty of inbox messages from people who want to get to know me.

"I’ve not replied to them and although I didn’t get a date from the show, I’m single and taking life as it comes. I’m out there and if it happens, it happens."

"People tell me I have an amazing figure and it has really given me confidence. I was always conscious about the way I look, but I really don’t care now what others think.

"People have been saying I’m a bad mum because I’ve gone on TV naked.

"They can slate me all they like, but I know what a good mum I am. My children are loved and they don’t go without."

It was Helen’s daughter Jessica, 12, that encouraged her to sign up for the show after the pair watched a segment on Gogglebox about the programme, hosted by Anna Richardson.

The format sees six contestants slowly unveiled totally naked inside coloured boxes – with a picker having to make choices based purely on bodily attributes, before the pair go on a normal date, wearing clothes.

She’s now hoping her time on Naked Attraction will land her some modelling work – and she is also keen to raise awareness and money for charity, in particular Crohn’s disease, a condition suffered by Helen’s picker Mark, who now wears a colostomy bag.

She added: “I just want to say thank you to everyone that has supported me. I’m not ashamed of my naked body and I’m not afraid to show it off.”