What women want… voluptuous hourglass curves

The reign of the curvy body shapes didn’t end at Nigella, with the runners up including Dame Helen Mirren (who was photographed in her red bikini last year looking womanly and gorgeous at the age of 63), Judi Dench and Kate Winslet. Other generously proportioned ladies who made the top ten, include Julie Walters, Holly Willoughby and Kirstie Allsopp.

Only 13% of women regarded themselves as the perfect hourglass, with the majority citing their figures as either pear shaped or of an apple silhouette. The findings reveal that body conscious women focus more on shape than size. “It seems that British women have lost their waists but are demanding them back. They are more concerned about getting a curvy hourglass shape instead of being the perfect size 10,” said a spokesman for Special K.

The notion that thin is beautiful has led many women to strive towards an unachievable body ideal, leaving them feeling negative about their body shape. Runner up Kate Winslet is always speaking out about how proud she is to have curves and how she wants to give her daughter Mia, 8, a healthy body image to aspire to and not obsess about perfection. “I've decided I am going to start loving my backside. And for my daughter Mia, I want to be able to say to her, I love this,” she told Nightline. Nigella Lawson, a curveous size 16, when asked about her body image on the Jonathan Ross chat show, she replied "I've never met a doughnut I didn't like. We're all worrying endlessly and it's relaxing to think I don't have to fight the fight any more, life is so much rosier."

Maybe these are the reasons Kate and Nigella fared well in the survey on body image as opposed to their skinnier counterparts.

What do you think? Whose body shape do you most admire? Let us know below…