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It is billed as the perfect antidote to Love Island.

Lean, bronzed, hairless bodies are replaced by real-life lumps and bumps in a TV experiment aimed at boosting people’s self esteem.

Channel 4’s Naked Beach will see three people who hate their bodies flown to Greece.

They will hang out with eight naked body-confident hosts – whose modesty is covered only by paint.

After four days the guests are asked to strip naked on a beach.

The programme was ­co-devised by psychologist Dr Keon West, of Goldsmiths, University of London, who says ­spending time with nude people of all shapes and sizes rather than ­perfect ones helps boost your body ­image, and happiness.

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

Mental health campaigner Natasha Devon also oversees the show, which starts on Thursday. Natasha said: “Britain has some of the lowest body image scores in the world.

“Studies show that 75 per cent of women are unhappy with the way they look and 45 per cent of men hate what they see in the mirror.”

The show is a far cry from Love Island, which has come under fire for its “perfect” contestants.

The Naked Beach participants include a mum with stretch marks and a redhead who hates almost everything about her figure.

Here, four of the show’s hosts tell us how they grew to love their bodies – and how you can too.

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

Molly Forbes, 35, a mum of two and blogger from south Devon, was on a diet and weighing some spinach when her daughter Freya, five, asked her why.

“I couldn’t give her an ­answer that sounded sane,” says Molly. “It was in that ­moment I realised I had to stop dieting to set a good example to my two girls.”

Molly said: “I’d always hovered around a size 12 but if my clothes felt tight or ­uncomfortable I’d start cutting down what I ate.

“My husband Simon told me he loved my body no matter what and I’d just think he was being nice.

“But that day in the kitchen when my daughter asked me why I was weighing spinach for a diet recipe, I realised that I had to put my energy into feeling good about myself instead of slimming.

“Once I made a decision to stop dieting, cake and ­chocolate lost their appeal because they were no longer ­forbidden and.

“Now I eat when I’m hungry and if I fancy a bit of chocolate I’ll have it. I’m no longer craving sweet stuff because it’s no longer on the banned list. I now have no idea how much I weigh because I threw away my scales.”

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

Ayesha Perry Iqbal, 28, from Newport, Gwent, was 16 and a size 8 when she applied for a place at a London drama school.

But she was told her legs were too fat to get a good part on stage.

“It absolutely killed my ­confidence,” says Ayesha.

“A few years later when I’d filled out, a manager told me I was too hot to play the role of the fat best friend and too fat to be a leading woman. It was really insulting.”

Fed up at 21, Ayesha moved to Los Angeles and has become a successful plus-size model for international agency Wilhelmina Models.

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

She works with top brands such as Pretty Little Things, Fenty and Boohoo.

Ayesha said: “I love my body but it wasn’t always that way. It took a lot of hard work to get here.

“I started by ­writing positive ­affirmations such as ‘You are beautiful’ on a poster and sticking it on my bathroom door so they were the first thing I saw in the morning. Gradually I began to feel better about myself.

“When I grew up, models were stick thin and it still annoys me now when I’m labelled plus size because this is the size I’m meant to be. I eat healthy and work out four to five times a week.

“I found out that, in the end, what you have to do is look after your mind and soul and not just your body to be happy.”

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

Kayela Damaze, 27, of Bermondsey, South London, said her mum taught her and her sister to love themselves and ignore ­images of so-called perfection.

Kayela said: “Mum taught me a real sense of self and, once you have that, nothing can rock you. It wasn’t just about how we looked but about developing our own personalities too.

“The world can be a cruel place and you need to be secure to deal with whatever comes up.

“I was teased for my weight a little when I was 15 but I paid little attention because I like who I am.”

Kayela who goes under the name of Lala Love, works as a wardrobe stylist and has over 3,000 followers on her Instagram page, which embraces natural beauty.

Kayela, a size 18 who weighs 19 stone 6lb, said: “Everyone has ­different bodies and we need to stop seeing the world through ­images of other people whose shapes are a minority.”

Felicity Hayward, 30, of Kings Cross, central London, said she ­became self-conscious for years when she saw stretch marks on her stomach at 16.

“I had no idea you could get them without being pregnant,” she said.

(Image: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY)

Today she exposes her “tiger stripes” with pride as a plus size ­model and body image campaigner.

She was dancing to Diana Ross in an East London pub in 2012 when she was scouted by Ponystep magazine for a shoot with acclaimed snapper Miles Aldridge.

Felicity channelled Anna Nicole Smith for a picture which shows her provocatively pouring milk down her chest. Since then she has modelled for MAC Cosmetics, Ann Summers, Katy Perry’s Indi brand and L’Oreal Elvive.

Felicity, a size 18, says: “Everyone needs to love who they are and people need to be with ­someone who loves them.

“I’ve never had an issue with any ­boyfriends about the way I look or my stretch marks ­because I know that when someone loves you it should be for who you are.

“If you are with someone who makes an issue about your looks then it’s him who has the problem, not you.”

* Naked Beach starts Thursday at 8pm on C4