Sindy returns after almost 10-year absence with ‘healthier’ shape

The Sindy doll is back on sale in the UK after an almost 10-year absence and with a healthy new body shape.

Sindy, who claimed 80 per cent of the fashion doll market at her peak in 1985 after she was launched as a more demure rival to the glamorous American Barbie, has been given a makeover by Tesco, which has licensed the brand from Exeter-based owner and creator Pedigree Toys.

She is now seven inches taller, but her once long and skinny legs and arms have been remodelled into a more realistic body shape likely to meet approval from parents.

The £19.95 doll sports 11 “on-trend” outfits , boasts an extensive shoe and accessories collection and has three friends - Zoe, Kate and Laura.

Some 150 million Sindy dolls were sold around the world before she disappeared from shops when Woolworths went under in 2009.

Over her lifetime she wore a Mary Quant bob and rode a moped and a pony, in comparison to Barbie who had a telephone, drove a car and once worked as an astronaut.

Originally designed to be a distinctly British alternative to Barbie, she was first remodelled in the 1970s and later gained a new face and brighter smile before undergoing a supermodel-style body overhaul.

Mattel recently revealed new shapes for its Barbie doll, including petite and curvy, to widespread approval.

PA