Alexa Chung used to take part in photo shoots so ‘creepy’ that she didn’t feel able to tell her parents about the ‘reality of what was going on’.


Popular on LondonNet


The style icon never asked her parents for advice when she first got into the fashion industry and now regrets taking part in dodgy London photoshoots where she was asked to undress in front of male photographers and casting agents.

She told The Time: “I actually kept modelling very separate – I never really asked my mum or my dad’s advice during that time.

“It actually felt like I didn’t want to tell them too much about the reality of what was going on when I was taking the train to London and being asked to do certain things.

“I already knew it was wrong. So, you know, if there was a casting where some creepy man there had gone on to his flat in Ilford, and , you know, ‘Take your clothes off…’ and if I’d have done it, I won’t tell my mum because I know that’s wrong.”

The 29-year-old star – who was spotted by Storm modelling agency aged 14 – is still haunted by her past experiences and tries to block out memories of performing in raunchy photoshoots that she felt uncomfortable with at the time.

She recalled: “You had lots of castings where they were like, ‘This is for swimwear’, and in hindsight, I look back and think, ‘Did you really need an 18-year-old girl to strip in your front room?’

“I get flashbacks now. Loads of flashbacks. I’ll be reminded of something because I’ve sort of blocked it out and I don’t really think of those days. Like, recently, I was like, ‘Oh my God. That’s so not on’. ”

Alexa also revealed her parents were unimpressed with her career, but she soon became “addicted” to the thrill of earning big paychecks.

She said: “I was addicted, like a gambler. Yes, I could be making a measly £200 one day, but tomorrow I might make a commercial for £300,000.”