LARA CROFT MODELS - LUCY CLARKSON

It was Lucy Clarkson's father who first sensed the possibilities. "You'd make a great Lara Croft" he said to his daughter as he took in yet another media appearance by the world's number one cyber icon. A year later it was Eidos Interactive's turn to recognise that the model from Rotherham in Yorkshire had the requisite attitude, looks and - let's face it - physical dimensions to fill the star of the Tomb Raider series' famous boots. Lucy, of course, is thrilled.

As Lara Croft, she will travel the world and be feted wherever she goes. She' ll also become an instant cover girl - something most models never achieve. But, perhaps best of all for Lucy is the fact that, as Lara, she can be as curvy as nature intended. Another rarity in the stick-thin world of modelling. Not that Lucy, a no-nonsense Northern girl, ever had much truck with this kind of body fascism.

he says: "I'd been in South Africa on a modelling job and they'd told me to lose weight. I didn't fancy that so I was on my way home. And that was when I got the call telling me I was the new Lara. It was such fantastic news. It's such a high profile job - and one of the few that lets you keep your boobs and bum."

Lucy's modelling career began when her mum entered her in an Elite Model Agency competition hosted by a national newspaper and a toothpaste manufacturer. With no prior experience at all, Lucy was named one of the 12 winners out of 16,000 wannabes.

It didn't take long for the work to pour in. As a tall, shapely girl Lucy became a favourite of maverick British designer Vivienne Westwood. She was also kept busy with lingerie and swimwear shoots. Lucy finds them preferable to fashion work for one very good reason. "They pay the best money!" she says.

For Lucy, the cash and the travel are the best facets of a modelling career. And the worst? "Without doubt, other models. They can be unbelievably bitchy. In all the time I've been working I've made friends with two of them. Mostly I prefer the men," she says.

In fact, one lucky male model is now Lucy's boyfriend. And, double bonus for him, he's a huge fan of Tomb Raider. "He's obsessed with games and loves Lara. Well, now he's got a Lara of his own!" she says. Whether Lucy will indulge his fantasies by donning the costume on her days off is another matter!