RUMOURS that the Rylstone Calendar girls have fallen out with one another over a film contract have been vehemently denied by Tricia Stewart, alias Miss October.

Mrs Stewart is the pin up responsible for changing the image of the WI forever and putting the tiny village of Rylstone on the world map.

"Soon after the calendar was launched we were approached with an idea to have a film made about the making of the calendar," she explained.

"We were overwhelmed, we had no idea of the impact the calendar would have and certainly hadn't even given the possibility of a film a thought."

In the meantime TV comedienne Victoria Wood along with her business partner Phil McIntyre approached the girls and had offered more money towards the charity's cause in order to have the film rights.

But six out of the 11 ladies felt the American film company, Harbour Pictures, in conjunction with Buena Vista International Films, would portray the sensitive side of the story much better.

"In the end it was up to Angela - whose husband John's illness promoted the idea in the first place - to have the final say on who made the film.

"Some of us wanted this company whilst others felt Victoria Wood's offer would be better. But we have agreed to disagree and are still very good friends.

"Only last night (Tuesday) we were all together doing a fashion show in the village hall for the WI.

"There are lots of people who have been waiting for something like this to happen to make a story about it but what the national newspapers have said just isn't true.

" We have all worked very hard throughout the last year and are still going to be busy in the future," she added.

Indeed busy seems to be an understatement.

This week the girls were set to cause a new lather by stripping off for a washing powder advert.

A series of three billboards carrying the 40ft by 10ft poster will be unveiled at prime locations in London, Glasgow and Manchester tomorrow (Saturday).

Mrs Stewart said: "We have had lots of offers since the appearance of the calendar, but this was the one we decided we would do.

"After all, we're all housewives who have to do some washing and it has been done very tastefully. It is all about helping to raise money for cancer research and we are very pleased with the result."

The group, aged between 45 and 66, who posed for an all-female production team to shoot the poster for Surf with Sun Fresh in January, were thought to have received a donation of about £20,000 to Leukaemia Research for the campaign.

They have already raised more than £300,000 for the charity from the sale of the calendars in the UK.

Then on April 24 three of the girls, Tricia Stewart, Angela Baker and Beryl Bamforth are flying out to New York and Los Angeles for a week to promote the American version of the calendar.

It carries all the original photographs but covers 18 months from June 2000 to December 2001.

The additional pictures are not nude shots but show the ladies in dressing gowns after a photo shoot, a line up taken during the original launch at Cracoe and others taken against the backdrop of Bolton Abbey.

The girls will then promote it over here.

And this morning (Friday) at 10am Tricia and Angela are guests on ITV's Loose Women, hosted by Patti Caldwell.

The new calendar can be ordered in the UK priced at £8 by phoning the mail order line on 01280 814120. Alternatively you can visit its website on www.workman.com.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.