Countryfile legend Julia Bradbury has opened up about the vicious trolling she received after she shared a selfie of herself enjoying sunshine in a bikini.
The 50-year-old TV host is well known for her active lifestyle and is a host of a series of walking tour based TV programs such as Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury.
The health conscious star, who is a mother of one and married to property businessman Gerard Cunningham, boasts over 100,000 followers on Instagram where she shares insights into her private life.
However, she was not prepared for the level of abuse she received earlier this month when she posed in a bikini in her garden where she was soaking up some rare British sunshine.
Julia explained that she was met with an onslaught of vile comments from ‘skinny shaming’ followers who accused her of having cancer.
Speaking to The Sun, Julia explained: “One of the comments said, ‘She looks like she’s come out of a chemotherapy session’. That was the thing that surprised me — the vitriol.
“They asked, ‘Have you had chemotherapy?’ Absolutely not. I do not have cancer.
“Initially it just makes you feel very sad. Then online, very quickly, that skinny shaming became just nastiness which rolls into lots of very personal comments which have nothing to do with the original post.”
Julia is adamant that the trolls won’t wear her down and has vowed to continue to share her body-positive posts on social media.
She said: “But positive body image for women over 50 is so important, so I will carry on doing what I’m doing. I’m not going to stop for the haters.”
Previously speaking to the Mirror earlier this month, Julia said she feels sorry for those who spend their time writing abusive messages to people they’ve never met.
She said: “I wasn’t personally mortified by it. I just think it is sad people go down that route.”
She went on to explain she worries such abusive messages could affect others in a negative way.
She said: “On social media you have to be very careful with your words because people do get hurt, do get mortified and there are some serious eating disorders out there.
“I have friends whose daughters have anorexia and it is awful, and I have friends who were bulimic and these are horrible diseases.
“I think if I wasn’t of a sturdy mindset those kind of comments could be deeply upsetting.
“My posts are very tongue in cheek. I’m very confident about my health. I go out of my way to stay healthy, I exercise, I eat very well.
“There is nothing you can say to people who comment, ‘Oh, you should get some chips down you love’. I think bodyshaming can go both ways. I am hoping things will have changed by the time my kids are older and there might be more restrictions.”
She added: “I think it is criminal that people can put anything on social media without restrictions.”
