Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield praised a woman embracing her thick body hair on this morning, branding her an ‘inspiration’.

Leah Jorgensen, 33, was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome from a young age, which can stimulate male-pattern hair growth and dark hair on legs, chest and arms.

Speaking on the show from her home in Wisconsin, Leah revealed how the hair started to grow when she was aged 13, with a visit to the doctors at 15 years of age being a scarring experience, reports the Metro.

‘Unfortunately I had a rather traumatic experience,’ Leah said about her visit to the doctor. ‘I was very sensitive and insecure teenager and also I think the doctor had never really seen such an extreme case of it. She kind of made a facial expression that really traumatised me for a long time. ‘I was really scared to let people see what it was, even medical professionals.’

Leah was bullied throughout school, describing how it became her daily goal to get through the day ‘without anyone seeing how hairy I was’.

A car accident however proved an unlikely mental health lifeline which prompted Leah to embrace her body.

‘Paramedics came to look at my body and tried to figure out what injuries I had and they had to cut my clothes off, and that was the first time in a long time anyone saw my body for what it was.

‘They all treated me with respect and kindness. It really was a big shift for me to think about myself differently.’

Leah now has an Instagram account which she uses as a demonstration of her body positivity, even taking the plunge into bikini territory last summer.

‘It kind of started on my personal Instagram. It really resonated with people, like my friends and family were really appreciative of us being so open but then other women all over the world were finding it,’ Leah said.

‘It made me see there’s a place for this. This isn’t talked about. I feel like it needs to be talked about – the world needs to know bodies like mine exist.’