My Breasts Are Too Big, tonight, C4, 9pm.
AGONY OF GIRL, 16, WITH 'TOO BIG' BOOBS
SHE had the kind of voluptuous figure most women dream of. But for Holly Algar having big breasts was a complete nightmare.
At just 16 she had to wear a size 36F bra. She hated the way men gawped and shouted at her in the street.
And she was so self-conscious about her large, saggy bust that she refused to let anyone - including her boyfriend - see her naked.
"I felt like I had a dirty secret which I had to keep covered up under layers of clothes," says Holly, 20, a medical student from Dorset.
"My boyfriend couldn't understand why I'd always sleep with my bra on. He thought my breasts were stunning, but I'd only let him see them if I was lying down.
"When I told my friends I wanted a reduction they'd say, 'Are you mad? I'd kill to have big breasts.' But I couldn't get clothes to fit and my boobs were giving me a bad back and putting strain on my shoulders.
"The looks were the worst. I didn't know how to deal with all the attention my breasts attracted from men. It was a nightmare."
Her breasts had made her life such a misery from an early age that she secretly began saving up for a lift and reduction.
HOLLY recalls, "I had to start wearing a bra at nine and was teased horribly. By the time I was 13 I was a DD.
"At 15 I knew I wanted a reduction. I was quite shy and it was getting me a lot of unwanted attention. _ I deliberately chose clothes that would hide my bust.
"If I went out with my older sister, Abbie, I'd get men leering at me and making rude gestures. It was horrendous."
Holly went on a strict diet when she was 17, but losing a stone and a half had the opposite effect to what she had intended.
"I was still an E cup," she sighs. "And my breasts were worse - they were just droopy bags of flesh. My Nan probably had better breasts than I did."
In desperation, she turned to cosmetic surgery.
"There was nothing else I could do," she explains. "If they were saggy at 18, I knew they'd only get worse."
She was told her problem wasn't serious enough to qualify for free NHS treatment. So she took on three part-time jobs to help raise the cash.
"Nobody knew what I was saving up for - not even my mum," she says.
"My boyfriend didn't want me to have it done. He'd say jokingly that he wouldn't want to go out with me if I had small breasts. But when we broke up last year, I realised there was nothing to stop me."
In October, Holly saw a plastic surgeon who put her in touch with a team who were making a TV documentary about breast reductions.
"The doctor said it would cost £6,000, but the company were looking for people willing to have their operation filmed," she says. "I'd get a 50 per cent discount. It was a fantastic opportunity.
"My mum, Josie, was incredibly supportive - she knew it wasn't just a whim.
"I asked the doctor lots of questions first. I was worried about scarring or not being able to breast-feed. But the quality of life it would give me meant it was worth it."
Holly had a breast lift and reduction at the Harley Medical Group's clinic in North London on December 1, 2003. It took her down to a 34C.
"All I could do for a few days was sleep and I couldn't lift my arms much," she says. "But it was a relief to have it over with."
I LOOKED like a patchwork quilt sewn up with big, black stitches. I was horrified but already I could see the shape was much better and I didn't regret it for a second.
Eight months on, Holly feels comfortable in skimpy clothes for the first time in her life.
"It was fantastic going on holiday and buying my first string bikini and strappy tops," she laughs. "I'm so much happier and more confident.
"Some women have breast surgery because they want men to stare at them, but I had my operation for the complete opposite reason.
"I didn't want the most stunning breasts in the world, I just wanted to feel normal like anyone else my age.
"Now, at last, I feel that I've got nothing to hide."
Mirror
