By STEVE MYALL

Last updated at 21:31 25 August 2007

Kate Middleton dropped out of The Sisterhood, the all-female crew planning to row the Channel in a dragon boat, because - it is said - Royal aides feared she would attract too much attention.

And judging by these risque pictures, it seems their concerns about over-exposure may have been justified.

The exclusive images show Kate's former teammates Emma Sayle and Natalie Sisson posing for a charity calendar dressed (if that's the word) in only knickers, baseball caps and body-paint.

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The pair were joined for the photoshoot by England cricketer Alastair Cook, who appears in some of the snaps.

They have called on a string of other famous sporting names to pose alongside them as well, with the women in the appropriate body-paint.

Shoots have already been completed with former England football manager Terry Venables, ex-England cricket captain Freddie Flintoff, jockey Tony McCoy, athlete Iwan Thomas, Team GB Rowing, snooker player Jimmy White, rugby player Josh Lewsey and skier Chemmy Alcott.

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The women are also planning to pose with wheelchair basketball star Ade Adepitan and boxer Ricky Hatton.

Miss Middleton, the on-off girlfriend of Prince William, quit the 21-strong all-female rowing team, which plans to compete against a group of men called The Brotherhood, earlier this month, citing fears that excessive attention would lead to an accident.

However, Royal observers believe the decision was down to pressure from Clarence House, which feared the 25-year-old brunette's continued role was in danger of becoming a major media event.

Miss Sayle, 29, a businesswoman who once organised swingers' parties for the well-heeled, and Miss Sisson, 30, a TV presenter and former champion body-sculptor (a form of body-building), plan to sell copies of their calendar, named The Art Of Sport, online.

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Their photoshoot with England opening batsman Cook was done at Essex's ground in Chelmsford, where he plays county cricket.

Their modesty was barely protected by the coats of body paint applied by professional painter Emma Jane Cammack, who took four hours to cover the girls from their necks to their ankles for the shoots.

In some, they were made to look like athletes, while in others they posed as jockeys and even saucy snooker players.

The images for the calendar, which was to have been shrouded in secrecy until its launch in October, were shot by celebrity photographer M. J. Kim, who has photographed the likes of Justin Timberlake, Claudia Schiffer and Pierce Brosnan. The money raised from the calendar will go to two charities - Babes in Arms, which sponsors research into abnormalities in newborn babies, and the children's hospice charity CHASE Ben Hollioake Fund, set up in memory of the former England cricketer who died in a road accident five years ago.

Updates on The Sisterhood's fundraising events, training sessions and pictures of them on the water in their dragon boat are available at www.sisterhoodchallenge.com.