The Times Magazine 11Presenter Trinny Woodall, 58, grew
up the youngest of six. She rose to
fame with Susannah Constantine on
the BBC makeover show What Not to
Wear and founded her own beauty
and skincare brand, Trinny London,
in 2017. She has a daughter, Lyla, 18,
from her first marriage, and lives
in London with her boyfriend, the
businessman Charles Saatchi.Cancel culture is causing women
in their fifties to lose their voice.
Our children are telling us the
language. I find it easier because
I work with girls in their twenties
and thirties, so I have more
awareness. But older women are
so scared to say the wrong thing,
they don’t say anything.
I don’t do Botox to look young. I do
it not to look tired. If I look in the
mirror and feel awake and alert,
I will be awake and alert. If I look
exhausted, I feel it. I want to feel
full of energy – that’s all it is.
I’ve been hard up so many times.
My dad lost all his money when
I was 18, so I couldn’t go to
university. When I went into
recovery [for cocaine and alcohol
addiction] at 28, I started with no
money again. After What Not to
Wear, I was suddenly in a house
with a mortgage I couldn’t afford.
I had to sell it to clear my debt.
People still assume Trinny London
is funded by my boyfriend. The
reality is that I have shed blood,
sweat and tears on it during a
very difficult time in my life. It
used to upset me. You don’t want
anybody to make assumptions
you know are incorrect. I used
to fight them really hard. Now
I think: that is your shit, not mine.
I’ve always wanted to be noticed.
I am the youngest of six – I had
to fight my corner. I can spot an
only child because they never
had to compete. They believe in
themselves. My daughter, Lyla, is
an only child, though she would
say I’ve got two children – her
and Trinny London. But she has
unbelievable self-confidence. I
think, where do you get that from?
I had nine rounds of IVF and two
miscarriages before having Lyla. It
was tough. Susannah was having
baby after baby really easily andWhat I’ve learnt Trinny Woodall
INTERVIEW Hannah Rogers PORTRAIT Anna MartenssonI was losing them. The moment
I let go of hope, I fell pregnant via
intrauterine insemination. I didn’t
believe it. I was so paranoid, I went
for a scan every single week.
When my ex-husband [Johnny
Elichaoff] died, I had to become
a mother and a father. I have to
be both tough and empathetic.
But it means Lyla and I are
very close. It makes us resolve
arguments. It means we have
to be a bit more grown-up.
I became addicted to cocaine
because I had a total lack ofconfidence. I was very insecure
and unappealing. I had bad acne.
I finally stopped because I didn’t
recognise myself. I was so
detached from life; I had no
feelings. That is a scary thing.
I sold jewellery to pay for rehab.
When I went the first time,
my parents had sold a table to
Sotheby’s to fund it. It was always
referred to as “the table we sold”.
I never wanted that situation
again. I wanted to pay for it myself.
I had to learn to be good in the
boardroom. Whenever a man saysto me, “Oh, you’re a CEO who
actually runs the company?” I go,
“Would you ever ask a man that?”
Only 2 per cent of venture-capital
money went to female-founded
brands last year. It horrifies me.
I am more sensitive now than
when we did What Not to Wear.
But that is the show television
executives would want today.
It was a great talking point and
it delivered ratings. We had
eight million viewers. ntrinnylondon.com‘I don’t do Botox
to look young.
I do it not to
look exhausted’
TRINNY LONDON