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

Doll is now seven inches taller and her once long, skinny legs and arms remodelled and more realistic

File photograph of the “old” Sindy and her new incarnation. Photograph: PA
File photograph of the “old” Sindy and her new incarnation. Photograph: PA

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.

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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