London's top ten naked moments

Achilles. London's first naked statue has amused passers-by since 1822. Situated at Hyde Park Corner, it was made from a cannon captured at the Battle of Waterloo. Apt, really, since round the corner at Apsley House is a nude statue of Napoleon looking rather hunky. But a more realistic portrait of the emperor, also in Apsley House, somewhat shatters the illusion.

Vincent Bethell. The man who spearheads the Freedom to be Yourself campaign can often be found campaigning in the streets of London. Naked. He's been arrested countless times and has spent time in Brixton prison in solitary confinement, 'for his own good,' say the police. This January, he won the right to go naked in public. His next campaign is nudity at work. Yikes!

Nicole Kidman/Kathleen Turner/ Jerry Hall/Amanda Donohoe/Anne Archer. Nicole was first, stripping off in The Blue Room in 1998. Tickets sold out in record time, critics showered the play with praise, awards were won... so it was only a matter of time before more West End actresses started derobing. Enter Kathleen, Jerry, Amanda and Anne, all of whom have stripped for the part of Mrs Robinson in The Graduate.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's nudes, and those of other artists. Sick of playing second fiddle to its upstart sister gallery, Tate Britain is using the oldest trick in the book to boost popularity: nudity. Attendance dropped by 600,000 last year, so it has dusted off its Victorian nudes in the hope of enticing a flesh-happy public. The exhibition, which will include scenes of bondage and flagellation, opens in November.

The Opium advert. Sophie Dahl caused a commotion last year when she wore a pair of gold sandals, an expression of orgasmic ecstasy, and little else when photographed by Steven Meisel. Yves Saint Laurent described the billboards for Opium perfume as 'a tasteful nude in the tradition of high art'. Feminists and religious types were less enamoured, and the Advertising Standards Authority eventually banned it.

Billy Connolly. The comedian streaked through Piccadilly Circus earlier this year in aid of Comic Relief, to celebrate the first £1 million raised. However, since the BBC received hundreds of complaints, maybe the organisers should consider how much people would donate for Billy to keep his clothes on.

Nutopia. This was once a Covent Garden internet caf? with a difference - shiatsu massage, Eames chairs, and naked web surfing. Nutopia had lofty ambitions when it opened in February 2000, its inspiration being the Lennon/Ono vision of a country with 'no land, boundaries or passports, only people'. Of course. Anyway, either Westminster Council or the public didn't share their vision for nude internet fun, so now Nutopia is just a regular cyber lounge (020 7379 3730).

Intimacy. London's answer to Last Tango in Paris has Kerry Fox meeting Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance every Wednesday for sex in a seedy bedsit. Adapted from the Hanif Kureishi novel of the same name, Intimacy is famous for being the first mainstream film to show a woman giving a man oral sex. Quite blatantly. But the real star of the film is the location of the seedy bedsit: salubrious New Cross.

Damien Hirst. The 'artist cum popstar cum national embarrassment' spent much of the Nineties getting drunk and dropping his trousers. Favourite debauched companions: comedian Keith Allen and Blur boy Alex James. Favourite location for unclothing: the Groucho, or, indeed, any photographic studio anywhere in London. Not a pretty sight. Thankfully, Damien has now relocated to Devon where only the passing seagulls need see any alfresco nudity.