According to a poster on Reddit: “In 2000 she was in a play as an Exotic Dancer; the part called for her to strip. Lucky for us, someone took a photo.”
UPDATE #4:
Thanks to everyone in the comments section who contributed to this update.
The name of the play was “Eye Contact” (2000), and it played at the Riverside Theatre in southwest London. Here is Variety’s review of the play It seems that there were many similar photos, although the one in the original post above was the only one with any nudity. Some of them appeared in The Sun. One contributor wrote: “Looking at the quality of the picture, including the lack of blur from hand motion, the angle of the picture etc., this is a publicity shot leaked to ensure sellouts.”
Here is what else we found out:
“The shows all sold out at the Riverside. It was hard to get a ticket. Kelly showed far less than the others, basically just the single flash caught in the photo (from the original link). And that would have had to be from the side of the stage, because she kept her back to the audience when her bra came off. So even sitting in the front row you couldn’t see much.”
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I have excerpted quotes from the contributors in an attempt to make the entire piece read smoothly. You can still follow (or contribute to) the original unexpurgated discussion/debate in the comments area if you care to.
David, looking at the quality of the picture, including the lack of blur from hand motion, the angle of the picture etc., there is no way that this picture is an unauthorised pap style image, this is a publicity shot “leaked” to ensure sellouts.
Before the “Big Breakfast” she had been a Lingerie Model, those images remain out there with the see-thru bush images amongst them, the quality of those professional images compared with the quality of this image, should be more than enough proof as to the origins of this image.
I can confirm it. I saw the play at the Riverside Theatre in southwest London. It was a story about 4 or 5 girls who all want to become pole dancers in a club and their different life stories. Kelly was the ‘good girl’ college student who’d never stripped before. Anyway, she showed far less than the others, basically just the single flash caught in this photo. And the would have had to be from the side of the stage, because she kept her back to the audience when her bra came off. So even sitting in the front row you couldn’t see much. Still, it was better than that lame stage show she did with the Crazy Horse dancers from Paris.
This was still in the days before Three and before Kelly had done any nudity in print either, so the shows all sold out at the Riverside. It was hard to get a ticket.
As for the theory that this was a ‘press photo for publicity’, I highly doubt that. The producers of that show, and Kelly, were doing everything they could to keep Kelly’s assets under wraps. Yes, the photo was in the Sun, but I doubt that it was an authorised pic. I suspect a stagehand.
It was a press photo for publicity, I saw it in “The Sun” at the time.