Gogglebox star Kate Bottley strips naked posting cheeky pictures to Instagram after taking part in North East Skinny Dip

Gogglebox star Kate Bottley has stripped naked and posted the pictures to Instagram in a move many might not have expected from a reverend. The Church of England vicar, based in Retford in Nottinghamshire, was also joined by husband Graham during the cheeky escapade.

In fact the couple were not alone, surrounded by more than 1,000 other people taking part in the North East Skinny Dip. The annual charity event, established in 2012, involves participants swimming naked in the North Sea to raise money for charity MIND.

The swim marks the autumn equinox and took place this year on Sunday (September 18). Over the years it has raised £160,000 for the mental health charity.

Regular open-water swimmer, Kate, posted two pictures, the first of her lying in the sand surrounded by seaweed, the second a rearview shot of herself and Graham with their modesties covered by heart emojis.

Alongside the pictures, Kate wrote: Immaculate vibes at the @northeastskinny. But hilarious that I had a sunday off @bbcradio2 and I was up and out of bed earlier than I usually am!

"Thanks to everyone who said 'hello' and didn't ask for a selfie. PS that is seaweed I promise"

Speaking on the Walking the Dog podcast earlier this year, Kate talked about her time on Gogglebox saying they eventually began to feel overwhelmed with the filming. She said: "I wish I’d known how much it took over our life for two and a half years. It’s reality TV, it’s by its nature consensual exploitation.”

And it also cut into family time. Kate added: “My kids spent two-and-a-half years sat in their bedrooms every Tuesday and Thursday night or whatever nights they came to film. My kids didn’t have friends round for a lot [of the time], didn’t have help with their homework. Things like that.”

Sheffield-born Kate married Graham in 1998 and was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2008 and as a priest in 2009. She appeared with Graham in five series of Gogglebox from 2014 to 2016.

The 50-year-old former rugby player has written for numerous newspapers and, since 2018, has presented Good Morning Sunday with Jason Mohammad. She has also appeared on other TV including as a Canon on BBC One's Songs of Praise, along with quiz shows including Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats and Richard Osman's House of Games which she won.

Graham and Kate have two children together, a son and a daughter.