When the Weekly catches up with broadcaster Hilary Barry, she doesn’t have a tiara on her head. Nor is she wearing her 7th Form ball dress. Which is mildly disappointing because anyone who follows the star’s social-media platforms will be familiar with her famous Formal Friday dress-ups during Covid lockdown, where she urged people to have fun with their wardrobe.
“I’ll let you in on a secret,” whispers Hilary, 52. “I held on to that dress because it was the first one that was made for me by a proper seamstress. Mum sewed me beautiful clothes, but for my ball, she took me to a proper dressmaker and I felt very special.
“When I got it out for Formal Friday, I couldn’t do up the zip, but as was the fashion in those days, it had a massive red sash which formed a huge bow, so I just wrapped that around and around me to cover the gaping hole,” she laughs.
