Trinny and Susannah's fiercest insults on original What Not to Wear

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine have passed the fashion baton on to their daughters - who've been dubbed 2.0 versions of their famous mothers - but both say their mothers would probably be out of a job if their hit show What Not to Wear aired in 2024. 

Susannah's daughter Esme Bertelsen, 23, and Trinny's daughter Lyla Elichaoff, 21, are set to be Tatler's December issue cover stars - and in an interview with the magazine the young women are frank about their mothers' catty TV personas.

Lyla told the fashion magazine: 'I think they would be cancelled if the show was made now. You can't really speak to people like that any more, and say things like, 'You're so ugly.' 

Style gurus Trinny, 60, and Susannah, 62, teamed up in the early 90s to write a fashion column for The Telegraph before carving out a long-lasting reputation as a TV duo.

It spawned their style makeover show, What Not to Wear, which ran from 2001 to 2007 and made them into household names. 

The two women would snipe at each other's supposed physical shortcomings -Susannah's 'chicken arms' or Trinny's 'flat chest', but also at the guests who came to them for a new wardrobe.

Indeed, the duo was even credited with the rise of 'Rude TV' by academics, who said Trinny and Susannah's plain speaking contributed to the direct and aggressive behaviour seen on our screens - that led to shows such as The Apprentice, Come Dine With Me and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

University academics Angela Smith and Michael Higgins submitted their research on the subject to MPs for their 2019 inquiry into reality television following the suicide of a Jeremy Kyle Show guest, Steve Dymond in May of the same year. 

Professor Smith said that What Not to Wear 'was a game where there was resistance from the contributor, but resistance was futile. It was always legitimised as being "for your own good".

'But participants were told they couldn't wear clothes they were comfortable in, they could only wear clothes that Trinny and Susannah said they could wear.

'Those makeover programmes eventually morphed into dating programmes, with that element of humiliation and other forms of confrontation.'

So, just how mean were the style duo? Here, MailOnline picks out some of the harshest comments faced by those who appeared on the show:

SUSANNAH TO TRINNY IN 2003 : 'Look at her t**s, they're down by her knees'

An innocent bystander in the street is the focus for Susannah's acerbic put-downs as the duo are seen hurtling through West London in a convertible en route to their next makeover. 

Susannah audibly gasps as she spots a random woman chatting on the pavement.

Commenting on her physique, she says: 'Look at that woman there, my God, look at her t**s, they're down by her knees.'

Trinny gets her co-star back on track to the task in hand, which is making over Jane Anderson, a 6'1" models who's self-conscious about her height.'

As they drive on Trinny says: 'We're focusing on Jane today, Susannah' to which she gets the response: 'I'm sure she got bullied at school' as they discuss their next makeover victim.

As they hurtle around a street in West London, Susannah also tells Trinny: 'I feel so sick with your driving'. 

SUSANNAH IN 2003: 'Her dog and her were separated at birth'

Watching covert footage of Sue Young, a Dame at Eton College, the pair describe her as 'short and squat' while watching a video of her at an exercise class, before footage of her with her beloved dog evokes the comment from Susannah 'Her dog and her were separated at birth, weren't they?'

They also question her age, with Susannah saying: 'How old is she? She's 40'... to which Trinny replies 'But she looks older the way she's dressing, Su'.  

Later, during a sit-down chat with Trinny and Susannah, she dons a short skirt and boots with a frilly blouse. 

Susannah tells her: 'From the waist down, you're a flirty sexy woman, and from the waist up you're an old frump.' 

TRINNY IN 2001 : 'You look like an old woman trying to look young' 

The BBC intro for this 2001 episode reads: 'Trinny and Susannah try to tone down busty Mikaela, who they feel wears a little too little.'

The episode sees Susannah mock hyperventilating at a pink cardigan, shouting 'cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest' at one of Mikaela's favourite tops. 

When she tries it on, Trinny and Susannah stalk around her before Susannah pipes up: 'It makes you look old. It's really ageing'. 

Trinny follows up with: 'You look like an old woman trying to look young.'

A dispirited Mikaela asks: 'Mutton dressed as lamb?'

'A little bit. For you that's nearly impossible but you've managed to succeed'.

SUSANNAH IN 2004: 'In that dress she doesn't look like she's after commitment' 

A 21-year-old nurse, Sarah, from Humberside, wearing a yellow dress and reclining on the couch for a consultation with Trinny reveals she can't find Mr Right, saying 'Everything else in my life seems to be settled apart from meeting that Mr Nice Guy'.  

'In that dress she doesn't look like she's after commitment', says Trinny as Sarah walks in before adding to her face: 'Maybe that's why you haven't found Mr Right, because of the way you dress? Because you look a bit tarty? Your mum is right'. 

TRINNY IN 2004: 'Have you had sex? Are you gay?' 

County Durham social worker Lynne, a social worker and fanatical football fan reveals her love of football shirts - particularly Sunderland FC to Trinny and Susannah - only to face a grilling on her sexuality.

'Sometimes you are mistaken for a bloke, aren't you?', says Trinny. 

Described as a 'long-term singleton', Lynne says her fashion comfort zone is 'baggy jeans and a Sunderland shirt' before Trinny asks her: 'How attractive do you feel as a woman?'

She goes on: 'Have you had sex?' to which a clearly uncomfortable Lynne responds: 'Yes. That's a personal question though.' 

Taking no cues at the awkwardness of the chat, the fashion guru follows up with 'Are you gay?'

SUSANNAH IN 2001: 'Just because you wear a dog collar doesn't give you the excuse to look like a dog's dinner'

A brave Rev Julie Nicholson entertained Trinny and Susannah's lair in 2001 and was given short shrift by the fashion police pair about her away from church outfits. 

The intro sees Susannah glaring at the camera saying: 'Just because you wear a dog collar doesn't give you the excuse to look like a dog's dinner'. 

The 49-year-old mother-of-three curate from Bristol is filmed for a month in secret as Trinny and Susannah catalogue her 'sins against style'.

They tell viewers: 'Julie is about to hit the big 50, and like many women that age, she has lost her way'.  

Ahead of her makeover, the pair criticise her 'Mrs Mop' outfits and 'pantomime' trousers before working their magic on the woman of cloth. 

2003: MOMENT SUSANNAH GRABBED BREASTS OF A WOMAN AFTER SURPRISING HER: 'She's a fagger, a boozer and a slob'

Admin supervisor Liz Traves from Aldershot faced a scathing surmising of her style after her friends nominated her for a makeover. 

The show's style gurus focused on the fact that Liz had undergone breast reduction surgery seven years earlier and was still self-conscious about her body. 

'Huge knockers', says Susannah, as Trinny adds: 'Bouncing up and down'.  

And after watching footage of her enjoying a night in the pub, they tell viewers: 'She's a fagger, a boozer and a slob'.

When they finally meet, after surprising Liz in the street, Susannah tells her: 'Here's £2,000 - boy do you need it!'

She then tells her: 'Before you get your hands on the money, you've got to hand over your wardrobe, your life and these' as she points to and then grabs her breasts. 

Trinny and Susannah 2.0! What Not To Wear stars' daughters Lyla Elichaoff and Esme Bertelsen say their mums 'would be cancelled now' as they grace Tatler's December cover

Trinny and Susannah's daughters, Esme and Lyla, who have been dubbed London scene queens, have been friends for most of their lives through their mothers - and could now replicate the fame their parents endured. 

Lyla, whose father is Danish businessman Sten Bertelsen, is studying communication and digital media at Madrid's IE University, while Esme did an art history degree at Bristol. 

Lyla's father Johnny Elichaoff, former drummer for Stark Naked and the Car Thieves turned financial adviser, died by suicide in 2014 when she was 11. 

While the duo were raised in the London fashion scene, Lyla and Esme admitted they have never watched What Not To Wear or Trinny & Susannah Undress. 

Asked if they're fans of the show, they both replied simultaneously: 'I've never actually watched it.'

But they do recall some of their time on sets, as Esme said: 'I remember going to places like Poland or Sweden and doing the European tour things.

Lyla added: 'I was like six or seven. It was in some country in Europe, but I can't remember which. 

'This woman wanted to look like Hannah Montana, and no one knew who that was apart from me, so I got to help.'

Their mothers have treated them to some of their iconic fashion pieces over the years too. 

Esme revealed her mother had given her a pair of snakeskin heels, a chiffon Prada dress, a long, multicoloured Missoni coat, and silver and gold Miu Miu heels.

Meanwhile, Lyla got a green and black Prada dress to wear for her 18th birthday party 

Esme confessed her mother gave her 'free rein' to wear what she wanted to.

'I was never allowed to wear ripped jeans,' Lyla added. 'I think it's good to let your kids develop their own fashions and make really bad mistakes. 

In June, Trinny and Lyla arrived together for the V&A Summer Party 2024 to celebrate the upcoming Naomi: In Fashion exhibition.

The fashionista, 60, looked sensational as she graced the red carpet wearing a silver metallic illusion dress with padded frilly sleeves. 

By her side was her lookalike daughter Lyla, who commanded attention in a plunging blue and green sequin dress. 

Just one week before, Susannah and Esme attended West End play 2:22 A Ghost Story's afterparty at Sophie's Soho.

Susannah looked chic in a white blazer and matching top and rocked flared jeans and boots, finishing off the look with a brown belt with a metallic embellishment.

Meanwhile, Esme was the spitting image of her famous mum as she sported a glossy snakeskin bomber jacket, and matched a top of the same shade while keeping it casual in denim and white trainers.