I was very skinny, but that was just my natural build. I always ate sensibly - being thin was in my genes.

The way I looked when I started modelling - I was a skinny schoolgirl, stuffing tissues into my little 32A bra. I wasn't trying to be that thin; I was perfectly healthy, but still - that look is a total impossibility for women over the age of 20. Fashion has a lot to answer for, doesn't it?

Back in the '60s, there was a car sticker that read, 'Forget Oxfam, Feed Twiggy,' but I ate like a horse.

From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs, or how to cope with my body as it changed. With hindsight, I can see I was different. I was given a body that worked for photographic modelling and a photogenic face.

She began to be reassured by these pains, tangible symbols of her success in becoming thinner than anyone else. Her only identity was being "the skinniest." She had to feel it.

Soon I'll be thinner than all of you, she swore to herself. And then I'll be the winner. The thinner is the winner.