The Clothes Show Series 3

Louise Redknapp

Louise started her career as a member of Eternal between 1992 and 1995, the first all-girl group to sell over a million copies of their debut album in the UK. She went on to shift over four million records in Britain as a solo act, including four albums and nine top-ten singles. Having enjoyed success as a recording artist, marrying a famous footballer (Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp) and finding her feet in the fashion world, Louise has been dubbed the original Victoria Beckham.

In 2004 Louise was crowned ‘Sexiest Woman of the Decade’ by ‘FHM’ magazine, a leading read for lads who like beer and fast cars. Following an absence from glossy mags to become a mother three times over, Louise returned to the glamour spotlight in 2007 for a three-year contract as the celebrity face (and curves) of a leading UK lingerie brand. Adorning enormous billboards across Britain, Lou proved that she was back – and as supersexy as ever!

In 2007, Louise put herself at the centre of the ‘size zero’ debate with her TV documentary ‘The Truth About Size Zero’, which attracted 6 million UK viewers. In order to expose the harsh reality of attaining the skeletal frame fashioned by Tinseltown superstars, she followed a gruelling exercise and dietary regime to reduce her 19.4 BMI to 17.6, drop 11 lbs and squeeze into a miniscule frock. Louise’s 2009 follow-up, ‘The Truth About Super Skinny Pregnancies’, explores the shocking lengths mums-to-be go to in order to maintain slender figures, including starving themselves and their unborn child, and has attracted a healthy amount of column inches in the national press.

Caryn Franklin

Since taking her first steps into the world of fashion journalism as ‘i-D’ magazine’s fashion editor in the early 80s, Caryn has been reputed for her impeccably streamlined personal style. In fact, ask her what her biggest fashion faux pas has been and she is hard pushed to recall a real fashion blip: “Mmmmm… I once wore a leather coat and high heels to a bondage party with no underwear on underneath. It was cold on the way home. Was that too much information?” Saucy minx!

Franklin’s trademark ubercool style statements and passion for vintage vogue extends beyond her wardrobe – and right to her toilet. In the early noughties, she purchased a second home – a wreck in the picturesque county of Suffolk to be precise, which was in dire need of some Caryn creativity. And that she gave it. After boldly signalling her arrival by painting the exterior of the house bubblegum pink, she transformed the downstairs bathroom and lavatory into an enticing chic retro haven. “I papered it with some old newspapers that I found in the attic, which gives it a cool, vintage edge. When people go in there, they don't tend to come out for ages, as they're so engrossed in reading the old stories from the Daily Mail of the 1920s,” explained the super stylish presenter and cool homemaker.

Caryn’s love of Vivienne Westwood has never faltered: “She is great to interview and has such a strong character both as a woman and a designer. I have her clothes dating back from the early 80s, including two pairs of bondage strides from hers and Malcolm McClaren’s personal collection.” But since 2008, Franklyn has fiercely been championing the avant-garde Parisian-based British designer Gareth Pugh, declaring: “I first saw him four seasons ago and instantly knew there was something about him. He's going to do it. He's carrying the energy.” Her trend mapping was as on the money as ever – Pugh’s fashion-as-performance-art outfits have recently been favoured by such style icons as Lady GaGa, Rihanna and Beyonce.

Brendan Courtney

Brendan apparently only wears America Apparel underwear, and thinks that rapper André 3,000 and broadcaster George Lamb are the finest celebrity examples of how to dress to the best in menswear. He spends around £500 (€589) a month on clobber, his favourite shops are London’s Beyond The Valley and Dublin’s Indigo & Cloth, and the single most expensive fashion item he has purchased is a pair of Lanvin black leather Chelsea boots with a zip at the side – reduced from £1,400 (€1,650) to £780 (€918) in Harvey Nichols.

On his home shores of Ireland, Brendan consolidated his fame by hosting his 2005 self-titled chatshow – which was far from grand. "We couldn't afford to pay for guests so I would do things like run across Soho Square to Rupert Everett going, 'Hi, you don't know me, but I really like you. Would you do my show?'” explained Brendan. His tenacity paid off, and Courtney managed to catch some half decent guests. However, on one such occasion, singer Sinead O’Connor did a runner before the cameras started to roll. "When she got there, she didn't like what she was going to do. So she just went, 'Yeah, yeah, that's great and I'm just going to the toilet' – and she disappeared," recalled Courtney about his fleeting meeting with the notoriously tempestuous singer.

On a more positive musical note, Brendan was rather delighted (and surprised) to recently discover that he and Morrissey, the music industry’s revered god of doom and gloom, have a cousin in common (which makes them second cousins). A stranger flagged up the possibility to Brendan during the filming of ‘Off the Rails’ (a makeover show that he hosts for the Irish broadcaster RTÉ), and Mr Courtney senior later confirmed the family connection. “How the hell could you never tell me the world's most famous songwriter was my cousin?" exclaimed Brendan excitedly to his father (no doubt reflecting how cousin Morrissey would have made a more reliable chatshow guest than the disappearing Miss O’Connor).