Rear of the Year Awards 2006

14th September 2006 - Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, Knightsbridge, London

Hosted by Rosalind Freeborn

Javine Hylton and Ian Wright
win the ‘Rear of the Year’ awards

Singer Javine Hylton and former England International Ian Wright are the winners of this year’s ‘Rear of the Year’ awards, presented today in London at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, Knightsbridge.

This is the 24th  year of the annual awards which are presented in 2006 in support of the Jeans for Genes Appeal, helping to raise funds for research into genetic disorders in children.

Javine, 24, joins a long list of celebrity winners including Charlotte Church, Denise van Outen, Natasha Hamilton, Claire Sweeney and last year’s winner Nell McAndrew.  Her well-toned rear has obviously impressed members of the Great British public who voted for her on the official web site www.rearoftheyearcompetition.com.

“I’m flattered to be voted ‘Rear of the Year’, she said today.  “I’ve been pole dancing loads in the new stage production ‘Daddy Cool’, so it’s definitely paid off for me.”

Ian is the first sports personality to win the award. “I feel very honoured and would like to thank everyone who voted for me,” he said on hearing he’d won. “I suppose I can thank my years as a professional footballer for getting into the habit of keeping fit and staying in shape.”

Rosalind Freeborn of Jeans for Genes commented; “The charity is thrilled to be partnering this year’s competition.  Our Jeans for Genes Day is on October 6th when we ask people to jump into jeans and make a donation. We hope this year’s winners will be an inspiration to other people to try to look just as great on Jeans for Genes Day.

Tony Edwards, organiser of the annual awards, said that rears were an important fashion indicator.

“The question of whether the human body adapts to changing fashion trends, or the other way around, has been debated for many years and nobody has yet reached a conclusion,” says Edwards.  “But it’s clear that body shapes change with the decades.”

Edwards points to dramatic changes in the female silhouette over the past fifty years.  “During the 1950’s a well-rounded, larger rear, typified by Monroe, was the fashionable ideal while, just a decade later, the rear was small and neat like ‘Twiggy’s’ or Jean ‘The Shrimp’ Shrimpton.  In the fitness-conscious 21st century, a well-toned, firm, athletic rear, is very much in style and seems destined to remain so for a while at least.  Javine and Ian typify the trend towards fitness and keeping in shape.

Selecting the ‘Rear of the Year’
*  Public nominations are received throughout the year via the official voting page on the Rear of the Year website.
*  A year-round press cuttings monitoring services, spotlighting celebrity rears, assists in compiling the short list of candidates.
*  The final decision on the choice of winners is made by the organisers.
*  The winners must reside in the UK.

Past Winners of the Rear of the Year award

Barbara Windsor
Felicity Kendal
Suzi Quatro
Lulu
Elaine Paige
Lynsey de Paul
Anneka Rice
Michael Barrymore
Anita Dobson
Su Pollard
Marina Ogilvy
Ulrika Jonsson
Sarah Lancashire
Richard Fairbrass
Mandy Smith
‘Hunter’
Tracy Shaw
Melinda Messenger
Gary Barlow
Carol Smillie
Frank Skinner
Denise van Outen
Robbie Williams
Jane Danson
Graham Norton
Claire Sweeney
John Altman
Charlotte Church
Scott Wright
Natasha Hamilton
Ronan Keating
Aled Haydn-Jones
Alex Best
Will Young
Nell McAndrew

Click here to access press contacts for this event