Page 3

After Rupert Murdoch relaunched the loss-making Sun newspaper in tabloid format on 17 November 1969, editor Larry Lamb began to publish photographs of clothed glamour models on its third page to compete with The Suns principal rival, The Daily Mirror, which was printing photos of models wearing lingerie or bikinis. Page 3 launched the careers of many well-known 1980s British glamour models, including Debee Ashby, Donna Ewin, Samantha Fox, Kirsten Imrie, Kathy Lloyd, Gail McKenna, Suzanne Mizzi, and Maria Whittaker, some of whom were aged 16 or 17 when they started modeling for the feature. Some Page 3 girls became well-known celebrities and went on to careers in entertainment. Fox, who began appearing on Page 3 as a 16-year-old in 1983, became one of the most-photographed British women of the 1980s, behind only Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. After leaving Page 3, she launched a successful singing career. In 2020, Channel 4 produced an hour-long documentary, Page Three: The Naked Truth, to mark 50 years since The Sun first introduced Page 3. ==Opposition==

(photographed in 2011) began campaigning against Page 3 in the 1980s. Page 3 was controversial and divisive throughout its history. Its defenders often characterised it as an inoffensive British cultural tradition, as when Conservative Party MP Richard Drax in 2013 called it a "national institution" that provided "light and harmless entertainment". After becoming The Sun's editor in June 2013, David Dinsmore confirmed he would continue printing photographs of topless models, calling it "a good way of selling newspapers". ==End of the feature==

, owner of The Sun, suggested in 2013 that Page 3 could transition to a "halfway house", featuring glamour models without showing nudity. In February 2013, Rupert Murdoch suggested on Twitter that The Sun could transition to a "halfway house", featuring glamour photographs without showing nudity. Caroline Lucas criticized the transition to clothed glamour, saying: "So long as The Sun reserves its right to print the odd topless shot, and reserves its infamous page for girls clad in bikinis, the conversation isn't over." Despite abolishing the feature in its print editions, The Sun continued publishing topless images on its official Page3.com website until March 2017. No new online content appeared after that point, and the website was taken offline in 2018. In April 2019, The Daily Star shifted to a clothed glamour format, becoming the last mainstream print daily to discontinue printing topless images. This ended the tradition in the mainstream British press, with only the niche Sunday Sport continuing to publish topless images in tabloid format as of 2023. == Notable Page 3 Girls ==

Women who have posed for Page Three include: • Sian Adey-Jones, beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Wales 1976, the second runner-up in Miss Universe 1976. She then finished first runner-up in Miss United Kingdom 1976 and competed as Miss Britain in Miss International 1977 • Chloe Ayling, model and media personality; known for surviving an Milan abduction in 2017 and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 • Marina Baker, politician and journalist who was previously the March 1987 Playboy Playmate • Samantha Bentley, former pornographic actress • Kelly Brook, actress and television personality who made appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, ''Britain's Got Talent, and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' • Felicity Buirski, folk singer • Alicia Douvall, television personality and entrepreneur known for her television appearances on Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother • Leilani Dowding, media personality and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Great Britain 1998, had features in Maxim and FHM, and later appeared on The Real Housewives of Cheshire • Linzi Drew, former pornographic actress • Samantha Fox, pop singer who was voted 'Favourite Page 3 Girl of the Year' three times (1984, 1985, 1986) as well as 'top Page 3 girl of all time' • Cherri Gilham, writer, activist, and former actress • Geri Halliwell, singer-songwriter, television personality, and author known for being an original member of the Spice Girls since the band's inception in 1994 under the stage name "Ginger Spice" • Gail Harris, former pornographic actress • Mo Hayder (1962–2021), author who previously worked as an actress under the stage name Candy Davis, most notably appearing as Miss Belfridge in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? for two series, while her novels have sold more than 6.5 million copies • Keeley Hazell, model and actress • Linda Lusardi, actress and television presenter • Suzy Mandel, former actress • Jodie Marsh, media personality and bodybuilder who has made notable appearances on Essex Wives and Celebrity Big Brother • Linsey Dawn McKenzie, pornographic actress • Nicola McLean, media and television personality with appearances on ''I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother'' • Melinda Messenger, television presenter and personality whose presenting credits include Fort Boyard, To Buy or Not to Buy, Golden Balls. She also appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing on Ice • Suzanne Mizzi (1967–2011), model and singer • Lucy Pinder, model, television personality and actress who has appeared on FHM's list of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" as well as Book at Bedtime with Lucy Pinder, Celebrity Big Brother and films such as Waarrior Savitri and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming • Katie Price, television and media personality and businesswoman who has published 22 books, appeared on numerous reality series including Katie & Peter, ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and Celebrity Big Brother'' where she finished as the winner • India Reynolds, model and television personality who was a contestant on the fifth series of Love Island • Danielle Sellers, model and television personality who appeared as a contestant on Love Island in 2017 and Love Island: All Stars in 2025 • Nicola T, former model and television personality who appeared on WAGs Boutique and Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 • Dani Thompson, actress ==Television documentary==

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Page 3 feature, British television carried a documentary titled Page Three: The Naked Truth on Channel Four, which aired on 17 June 2024. It included stories and updates about the lives of some of the women who appeared in the magazine over the years. After it aired, it was the most popular search term on Wikipedia, garnering 589,000 page views in a single day. For the month of June it tallied more than 800,000 views, against 25,000 for a typical month. == Publications ==

• The Sun (1970s – January 2015) • The Daily Mirror / Sunday People (1970s – 1980s) • The Daily Star (1970s – April 2019) • The Sunday Sport / Midweek Sport / Weekend Sport (1986 – present) • The Daily Sport (1991 – April 2011) ==See also==