MARKS & SPENCER’S latest lingerie campaign will star a 52-year-old mum from Oxfordshire who has been through a double mastectomy.

Helen Peedell, from Kingston Bagpuize, was diagnosed with grade three inter-ductal breast cancer in September 2016.

During the past year, she has undergone chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiotherapy – and still takes some medication.

From today she will be starring in the campaign for M&S, with six other women who have been affected by breast cancer.

The models will wear a selection of the 27 pink bras from the range which is on sale in M&S.

And throughout October, the company will donate 20 per cent of pink bra sales to Breast Cancer Now to help fund lifesaving research.

After receiving her diagnosis last year, Mrs Peedell joined Breast Cancer Now, the UK’s largest breast cancer charity.

Earlier this year she received a mysterious blanket email from the company looking for members to pose in their underwear – but she did not know what for.

Hundreds of women applied, and a shortlist of 50 were invited to London for a screentest.

Seven made it – six of the women are breast cancer survivors and one’s mother had breast cancer.

Mrs Peedell said:“After going through chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiotherapy I received an email from Breast Cancer Now, looking for volunteers to take part in this campaign.

"It was then that I decided to show people that this disease shouldn’t stop you being who you are.

"I want to show women that you can still look beautiful and glamorous in gorgeous underwear after surgery.

“I can only thank Breast Cancer Now and M&S for giving me this opportunity to show the world who I am.

"I have enjoyed every second of this experience."

Mrs Peedell praised the support and care she has received from NHS staff in Oxford and at the Churchill Hospital.

The money raised from the lingerie range will contribute to M&S’s ongoing goal to raise £13 million for Breast Cancer Now over five years, with the aim of helping to prevent 9,000 cases of breast cancer a year by 2025.

Meaghan Annear, corporate partnerships manager at Breast Cancer Now, said:

“We are very grateful to M&S and its customers for their continued support in raising vital funds for Breast Cancer Now, which enables our scientists to take that all-important next step to ultimately start preventing breast cancer, sparing women and their loved ones the fear and uncertainty breast cancer can bring.

“We hope women across the UK will head in-store or online to support our vital research and purchase a pink bra this October.”

Jo Jenkins, director of womenswear, lingerie and beauty at M&S said:

“We want this campaign to have a direct impact on the fight against breast cancer and hopefully, prevent other women from having to undergo similar experiences.

"We know this is a cause that matters deeply to our customers and colleagues– and together we want to continue to raise vital funds for Breast Cancer Now’s incredible lifesaving research.”