STAR CHALLENGE; Cindy Jackson; Is dragged through a hedge backwards

Sunday Mirror, Dec 8, 2002 by Naomi Greenaway

A muddy twig wedges itself in Cindy's diamante tiara. 'Oh no. I think one of my diamond earrings is falling off,' she says, her head poking out from underneath a hedge.

After 27 plastic surgery procedures - make-up tattooed on, a button nose, and cheekbones to die for - Cindy Jackson usually looks pretty good. So for her challenge, we wanted her to look like she'd been 'dragged through a hedge backwards'. And what better way to gain the desired look than by, er, dragging her through a hedge backwards.

Cindy is lying on her back under a hedge in her local playground being pulled through head first. She's assured us all her plastic parts are firmly in place - we wouldn't want an innocent child ending up with Cindy's nose in their pocket now, would we? And so far everything - apart from her tights - seems to be surviving the hedge experience.

'I'm used to all this dragging,' admits Cindy. 'The first 33 years of my life were a drag - before I had plastic surgery.' She shakes her head in an attempt to remove a soggy leaf from her now damp hair. 'But this is a first. I haven't been dragged through a hedge, although I did almost have fun in a hedge with a boyfriend. I chickened out because we were in public.'

A tummy emerges from under the hedge followed by a pair of ripped tights and one stiletto. By the end of her experience, Cindy looks anything but glamorous, but she insists it's not an irregular occurrence. 'I don't always look dolled-up. You wouldn't believe it if you saw me in the supermarket. But I suppose I always look younger than I am, even if I'm not looking glam. I'm 47 - some days I look in my 20s, sometimes in my 30s but I don't usually look in my 40s.'

But Cindy doesn't use her youthful looks to trap youthful men. 'I like men my own age. Young guys who chat me up because they think I'm their age are sometimes horrified when they realise how old I am - but I think they're turned on a bit at the same time. I never pursue things with those guys though.'

Cindy is sitting in front of her hedge, her tights are in shreds, her dress has acquired an array of brown patches and her head looks like it's moonlighting as a plant pot.

But Cindy is all smiles - her tattooed make-up still firmly in place. It just goes to show that, with enough plastic surgery, even actually being dragged through a hedge backwards can't make you look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Cindy donated the money from her challenge to the RSPCA. Visit www.rspca.org.uk or call 0870 3335 999 for info. Living Doll by Cindy Jackson is published by Metro Books, pounds 16.99. For more information about Cindy and her books visit www.cindyjackson.com