Helen Skelton, right, opted for a below-the-knee purple skirt today after enduring criticism over her choice of outfit while presenting the Olympic swimming in the past two days. Photo / BBC
Helen Skelton, right, opted for a below-the-knee purple skirt today after enduring criticism over her choice of outfit while presenting the Olympic swimming in the past two days. Photo / BBC
She's been at the centre of a Twitter storm around her outfits while presenting the BBC's Olympics coverage.
But today Helen Skelton appears to have moved to shut down her critics by opting for a demure below-the-knee purple skirt alongside a striped top with high neckline.
It came after shewowed viewers last night in a stunning orange party dress while she previously wore a short navy dress that some viewers claimed suggested she was more suited to 'going clubbing afterwards'.
Helen Skelton also wore a stripey top with a high neck line after she caused a stir on the internet by wearing low cut dresses in previous appearances. Photo / BBC
The former Blue Peter star, who is hosting the BBC's coverage of the swimming, has attracted attention with her outfits which she also shares on Instagram under the hashtag #outfitoftheday.
On Saturday night Twitter fans went into meltdown when she wore a navy dress with a short skirt in the warmth of the Rio swimming arena, which many pointed out offered more than a glimpse of her enviably long legs.
She didn't seem to have toned down her outfits for the Sunday night coverage but perhaps she has taken note of what has been said about her.
Many people defended her choice of clothing across the weekend.
James Brimson wrote on Twitter: 'I hope that you are satisfied by Helen Skelton's skirt length today. Literally no leg whatsoever.'
But today's outfit disappointed some people, with some taking to Twitter to hit back at her critics for forcing her into more conservative outfits.
Gary Marshal quipped: 'See what you moaning b******* have done look at Helen Skelton's skirt now!'
Ken Tague added: 'That's a boring long skirt on Helen Skelton today.'
During the day on Sunday she wore a blue and white lace collared dress, which she swapped for a bright orange party number for the night time.
Daytime: The trio of presenters were back on screen on Sunday, with Helen Skelton in a blue and white lace collared dress. Photo / BBC
Viewers stayed up until past 2am to watch Britain's gold medal win in the swimming last night - but many seemed more concerned by Helen's choice of attire.
Commenting on her ensemble, one viewer tweeted: 'Helen Skelton must be going clubbing after this with that dress on.'
The ensemble also inspired some viewers who weren't so keen on the sport to stay on the channel, with one quipping: 'The swimming just got interesting!'
Another agreed: 'Wasn't that bothered about the swimming. Am now. Is all.'
One user hammered home the point by posting: 'Most of us blokes aren't really watching the swimming, Helen!'
Party outfit: Helen Skelton stunned viewers again last night with an orange party dress, as she presented the coverage from the Olympics swimming pool. Photo / BBC
Some seemed not to see the situation as a laughing matter, with one tweeting: 'The @BBCSport presenter #HelenSkelton needs to wear appropriate clothing to present swimming. Many ppl don't want a nightclub mini dress #bbc [sic].
It sparked an uproar on Twitter, as many users leapt to her defence and pointed out that it was hot in Rio.
One Twitter user wrote: 'If you're struggling to concentrate on the sport because a woman has a pair of legs, it says more about you than her.'
Another added: 'Dear Helen, you're a human being. Wear whatever the f*** you like. Nobody has the right to tell you otherwise.'
Helen Skelton sent Twitter into meltdown as fans rushed to comment about her tiny navy skirt that offered viewers a glimpse of her enviably long legs. Photo / BBC
Another said: 'People getting their knickers in a twist literally over Helen Skelton showing a bit of leg. So what. The woman's in Rio. Bit hot there.'
The mother-of-one shot to fame presenting Blue Peter in 2008, and has taken on a number of extreme challenges and expeditions for charity.
As well as running a 78-mile ultra-marathon in Namibia, she has kayaked the full length of the Amazon river and became the first person ever to reach the South Pole on a bicycle.
She took over the coverage from veteran sports presenter Clare Balding, and previously hosted the 2016 World Swimming Championships.
ut she has revealed that despite her daredevil activities she is not 'naturally fit'.
As she trained for her many adventures, friends would turn up at her home to help encourage her with gin and tonics.
Viewers' tweets suggested they were paying more attention to Helen Skelton's legs than to the Olympics swimming coverage. Photo / BBC
'I'm not naturally fit, I trained for those things,' she said this weekend.
'I had a rowing machine at home and my friends used to come round and give me gin and tonic and sit while I was on it, because I couldn't go to the pub.'
She had been planning on taking her son, one-year-old Ernie, to Rio with her, but that her and rugby player husband Richie Myler decided it wasn't worth the risk.
'He [Ernie] was going to come with me until a couple of weeks ago when my husband sat down and was like "Helen, the Zika virus",' she told Notebook magazine.
But Skelton wasn't the only one to draw gasps from the online audience on Saturday night.
During Saturday night's coverage, eagle-eyed viewers spotted double Olympic gold-medal winner Rebecca Adlington appearing to give her co-host Mark Foster's leg a squeeze.
Video captured the moment Rebecca Adlington appeared to stroke the thigh of her co-presenter Mark Foster's thigh under the table during the BBC's Olympic swimming coverage. Photo / BBC
Adlington and Foster, himself a former Olympic swimmer, are working together for the coverage from Rio.
But viewers took to Twitter as they started to speculate on the chemistry between Adlington and Foster.
One wrote: '@BBCSport can you just shift Mark Foster and Rebecca Adlington apart, I'm here to watch swimming not them touch each other up.'
Another, Jason Scott Tilley, suggested: 'Rebecca Adlington so fancies Mark Foster.'
It comes just months after Adlington, who won two golds for Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, announced her break-up with husband Harry Needs after being married for only 18 months.
Helen also accidentally flashed her underwear at the London 2012 Olympic Parade.
Co-hosting with Ben Shephard, she suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction as her short red dress flew up in a gust of wind.
Luckily, the sporty star was able to pull off the accident with aplomb, yanking her dress down quickly and smiling as though nothing had happened.
