Daughters of iconic 00s TV duo are spitting image of their parents 

Trinny and Susannah's daughters Lyla Elichaoff and Esme Bertelsen on front cover of Tatler
Lyla Elichaoff (L) and Esme Bertelsen take after their famous mothers (Picture: Tatler/ Luc Braquet)

Daughters of an iconic 00s presenting duo are following in the footsteps of their mothers with a high-fashion Tatler cover.

Lyla Elichaoff, 21, and Esme Bertelsen, 23, the children of Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine respectively, look every inch the fashionistas in the glamorous shoot.

Trinny, 60, and Susannah, 62, first shot to fame as the presenters of makeover reality series What Not To Wear, which aired on the BBC from 2001 until 2005, before hosting ITV’s Trinny & Susannah Undress.

However, despite their parents’ ubiquity on British TV in the early 00s, Lyla and Esma have confessed to Tatler they have never watched their mothers’ shows – and believe they would get ‘cancelled’ today.

‘I think they would be cancelled if the show was made now,’ Lyla, said. ‘You can’t really speak to people like that anymore, and say things like, “You’re so ugly.”’ 

In it, Trinny and Susannah would ‘ambush’ a woman who had been nominated by their friends as being particularly unfashionable before giving them a makeover.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine pose together in the 90s
They are the offspring of iconic 00s presenters Trinny and Susannah (Picture: Evan Hurd/Corbis via Getty Images)

Trinny and Susannah's daughters Lyla Elichaoff and Esme Bertelsen posing next to each other and some cameras on the front cover of Tatler
However Lyla and Esme said they had never watched their mums’ shows (Picture: Rhapsody/Luc Braquet/Tatler)

Using the person’s body shape and self-image to help guide them, the participant would also be guided by the hosts after being given £2000 to go shopping for a new wardrobe.

The friends also shot down a suggestion to front a reboot of What Not To Wear, with Esme explaining: ‘I think that’s their thing.’ ‘They were so similar, but so opposite,’ says Esme. ‘It really worked, their dynamic. I feel like we are just too similar?’

Like Trinny and Susannah, both Lyla and Esme have pursued creative ventures, with Esme working as an artist management specialist at Williams Godrich, the creative partnership formed by Robbie Williams and his long-term friend Ed Godric.

Lyla is still a student – but is studying communication and digital media at Madrid’s IE University, an institution she chose specifically because it was ‘creative’.

Trinny and Susannah's daughters Lyla Elichaoff and Esme Bertelsen posing on a sofa while on the phone and holding a remote
They also said they had no plans to front a What Not To Wear reboot (Picture: Luc Braquet/Tatler)

Trinny and Susannah naked with mannequins in front of them for an ITV series
Trinny and Susannah shot to fame on their BBC show before moving to ITV (Picture: ITV)

Esme is Susannah’s second child with longtime husband Sten Bertlesen, who she married in 1995. Their oldest child is Joe, while their youngest is daughter Cece.

Lyla is Trinny’s only child. Her father is entrepreneur and former drummer Jonathan Elichaoff, who died by suicide in 2014 aged 55.

Earlier this year, Susannah said she had no desire to ever revive What Not to Wear and work with Trinny.

‘What Not to Wear, no, I would not revive it, I think What Not to Wear was an incredible show,’ she said.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine at the Moet Chandon awards cermony in 2001
Trinny now has a multi-million-pound make-up business (Picture: Julian Makey/Shutterstock)

Trinny and Susannah's daughters Lyla Elichaoff and Esme Bertelsen next to a clothes rail surrounded by shopping bags
Both Lyla and Esme are following creative paths like their mothers (Picture: Luc Braquet/Tatler)

‘The way we did it doesn’t have its place today unfortunately, it would be great but it’s time for the next round of women or men to do it, Trinny and I had our time.’

‘Trinny is so busy with her make-up brand which is phenomenal, and we’ve always been polar opposites and now our lifestyles reflect that, so I am very happy living in the countryside, I now consider myself to be a mum first and a wife, very 1950s, who also happens to work,’ she added when speaking to The Sun.

After What Not to Wear wrapped up, Susannah appeared I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2015 and on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018. She now features a guest on Lorraine and Jeremy Vine.

Trinny, meanwhile, has founded a make-up business called Trinny London which is reported to be worth £180 million.

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds