The celebrity duo found themselves at the centre of controversy when they invited women of Sussex to go along to the Sussex landmark on Sunday and Monday to be filmed reshaping the Long Man.

The stunt is to be part of the style experts' brand new ITV series, Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation.

But the sex change challenge was met with a barrage of protests from groups including druids and pagans who claim the Long Man is a sacred site and the stunt was sacrilege.

Greg Draven, a member of the Anderida and Gorfedd Druid Group, said, "It is a sacred site to us and the wider pagan community and has great archaeological significance. In all the generations the Long Man has stood on the hill, no one has climbed over him to put breasts and a dress on him for a cheap TV programme."

The Council of British Druid Orders also criticised the stunt. King Arthur Pendragon, a pagan priest and battle chieftain at the council, said Trinny and Susannah planned to dishonour and desecrate an ancient Pagan site of worship.

Also opposed to the transformation was Wulf Ingessunu from the Woden's Folk, a national organisation which has members in Eastbourne, Polegate and Bexhill.

Wulf said, "The figure of the Long Man is that of an ancient heathen god — the one-eyed hunter god known as Woden to the English.

"This is a sacred religious site and the religious centre of Wodenism here in England. To hold such an event as creating a sex change on a heathen god is an insult to Wodenists here and elsewhere. What, I wonder, would be the result of such an act if the figure had been that of Mohammed? An outcry, no doubt, and rightly so!"

White witch Kevin Carlyon also hit out at what he called the desecration of the Pagan fertility site.

The 48-year-old from Bexhill has used the hill figure to help couples who cannot conceive for more than 20 years. Kevin said, "This is causing mayhem amongst Pagans, Druids and Witches worldwide. I have always believed the Wilmington Giant is a female figure anyway but this sort of caper is outright vandalism.

"It would be like people defacing a church, going along in the night and painting it pink. It's pure desecration."

Despite a peaceful protest by the objectors, who met and spoke with the famous presenters and the show's producers, filming went ahead and the Sussex Archaeological Society, which owns and maintains the site, stood by its decision to permit filming of a sequence of the programme on the Long Man.

A spokesperson for the society said, "The filming has caused concern to members of the public and the society would like to put their concerns to rest. The terms of gift include keeping the Long Man safe from injury, damage and defacement, and to keep it free from weeds etc, allowing public access to the land around the figure at all reasonable times.

"The site has been examined by archaeological teams on numerous occasions and the considered opinion is that the figure cannot be any older than the 16th century. The earliest written evidence that has been found is dated 1711.

"As the site is a scheduled ancient monument, it is an offence to damage the Long Man."

Also see: Style gurus to give Long Man a sex change! - with your comments
Trinny and Susannah face protestors
The history of the Long Man