CELEBRITY fans are paying huge prices for stars' smalls.
Some of the most iconic bikinis of all time have sold for thousands at auction.
Last week, a faux fur set owned by sexbomb Raquel Welch – inspired by her famous role in One Million Years BC – went for £10,000.
The original doe-skin bikini worn by Raquel in the 1966 movie became a cultural phenomenon.
Grace Macaskill and Georgette Culley look at famous swimwear that prove less can cost more.
THE pop beauty and TV presenter sent pulses racing when she took that shower in a white two-piece on TV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2006.
Myleene, 46, finished runner-up in the series and says she finds it “hilarious” the outfit caused such a stir.
The former Hear’Say singer said: “I bought the white bikini for £40. After the show I sold it off – for £7,500.
“After doing the programme I saw the photo (of the swimsuit) and was like, ‘My goodness, it does look glamorous’, but it didn’t feel like it at the time – far from it.
“There are worse things to be known for than being really clean!
“Since then, I’ve had three babies – and I don’t look like that now.”
THERE’S little wonder that Carrie Fisher’s 1983 Return Of The Jedi slave outfit was in demand at auction.
The late actress set a generation of teenage boys’ hearts aflutter when Princess Leia donned the gold costume after being captured by Jabba the Hutt.
The bikini made Fisher a screen goddess, but she wasn’t thrilled with the costume, saying it was “what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell”.
When parents said that a doll wearing the bikini was a bad example to girls, Fisher hit back saying: “Tell them a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit and then I killed him because I didn’t like it.”
The bikini went for £77,000 during a “Profiles of History” online auction in 2016.
THE big-hearted Spice Girl is famous for her love of animal print and in 2008, she auctioned a bikini top and matching mini-skirt to raise cash for children with cancer.
After heading for LA, she sold the contents of her former home, including the print outfit and lavish furniture.
The auction raised £60,000 for charity CLIC Sargent.
Mel, 48, said at the time: “I feel happy to contribute to such an important cause . . . an organisation that provides clinical, emotional and financial support to children and young people with cancer.”
HER emergence from the water softly singing Underneath The Mango Tree left James Bond speechless.
And Ursula was no doubt left gobsmacked herself when the bikini she wore in 1962’s Dr No movie sold for £41,125 in 2001.
It was won by Planet Hollywood co-founder Robert Earl, who later sold it at auction in 2020 where it was set to fetch a huge £400,000.
The Swiss actress said: “My entrance in the film wearing the bikini seems to be regarded now as a classic moment in cinema and made me famous as The Bond Girl.”
The pale blue robe she wore in the film sold for £87,500 last year.
SCREEN icon Barbara certainly caused a scene with her Carry On Camping bikini, which pinged off during an “exercise” shot.
The famous swimwear sold at a London auction in 2021 for £9,500, with all profits going to the Alzheimer’s Society.
The briefs and strapless bra were instantly recognisable from the 1969 film after the ill-fitting top pinged off as she was stretching, hitting co-star Kenneth Williams in the face.
The costume was almost lost, though.
Left with a hole from a fishing hook used to pull it off, the bikini was saved from a bin during a costume company clearance in 1990.
DAME HELEN proved that women in their sixties can be sexy when she rocked a red bikini on an Italian beach in 2008.
The picture of her toned physique cemented then 63-year-old Helen’s place as a sex icon, although she later said: “I stood up and sucked my tummy in because my husband was taking my photo.
“I tried to suck my cheeks in, too. I tried to look good.”
Helen’s stunning look started a fashion revolution, with more older women following in her “dare to bare” footsteps.
Last year, two-piece sets made up 82 per cent of sales as older celebs embolden women.
Helen gave the outfit to Age UK, but it’s not known how much it fetched.
