Calendar girls dare to bare as they pose for ‘brilliant’ charity calendar raising hundreds for cancer research

Women of all ages, shapes, and sizes from across the wider Portsmouth area have posed in the nude for a fundraising calendar in aid of Cancer Research UK - and say that the experience has been ‘liberating’ and ‘uplifting’.

More than 30 brave ladies posed for the Dare2Bare calendar, an annual project run for the past five years by photographer Jon Gunner.

Jon said: ‘It started back in 2014, I had wanted to do a calendar girl style calendar for some time but never really had a reason to do one, then unfortunately my brother was diagnosed with cancer and that became the reason I started Dare2Bare as a way of raising money and awareness in a fun way.’

So far the team has sold 85 of the 2022 calendars, raising £846 from sales and a raffle on the calendar launch night at Lindford Working Men’s Club.

The calendar is not revealed to the models until it is printed and unveiled at the launch - meaning the ladies must wait before seeing the final images.

Calendar girl Tricia Pearce, from Havant, said that the experience is ‘so liberating, being part of something like that’.

She added: ‘It gave me that sense of doing something good.

‘That was my reason, doing something good for a good cause, but all the girls have a different story.

‘It’s really good fun, it’s brilliant, and at the same time we’re raising money for a really good cause.’

Inspired by the 2003 film Calendar Girls - based on a real story - the Dare2Bare calendar shows the models in a range of settings, holding items or posing behind props.

Jon said: ‘The shoots are pretty funny as the ladies do like to talk.

‘The shoots are pretty simple, we all arrive at the location, I have a look around to see what looks best for the backdrop, all the ladies get into dressing gowns and pose in their spots.

‘We generally like to use items from that location so the ladies can hide their modesty.

‘I take a few test shots then turn around to face away from them, they all disrobe and let me know when I can turn back, I take several shots and it's done.’

SEE ALSO: Denmead woman's 'desperate' plea to retrieve husband's pride and joy after he died of terminal cancer

Donna Fish, a calendar girl from Petworth, has been involved in the Dare2Bare project for the past five years.

She said: ‘The first year was very nerve wracking, but it was the most uplifting experience I’ve ever had and I’ve done it every time since.’

Now Donna helps Jon organise the shoots, and arranged the location for the florist photograph in this year’s calendar.

She added: ‘Most people are really up for letting us use their shops to do it, it’s really nice that they support it.

‘I’ve had my auntie pass away from pancreatic cancer, and a few friends die from breast cancer, so this is a cause that’s close to my heart.’

Several of the calendar girls who model for Dare2Bare have had cancer themselves, and one woman who helped with the project sadly passed away last year with the disease.

Donna added: ‘We’ve still got about 70 left to sell.

‘Every penny goes towards the charity, and we work hard to get what we can.

‘It’s all for a great cause - they’re a great bunch of girls.’

Contact Donna on [email protected] for more information about the calendars.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.