The Dark Side Of Porn; Death Of A Porn Star (C4): THE life and death of Lolo Ferrari, who had the dubious distinction of having the biggest breasts in the world, is an unedifying mix of "fame, prostitution, hard core pornography and possibly murder".

Lolo - real name Eve Valois - is known to C4 viewers from the Eurotrash series. She was found dead on March 5, 2000 of a drug overdose. Whether it was suicide or murder has never been solved.

Her mother, Catherine Valois, believes that Lolo's husband, Eric Vigne, killed her daughter. He denies this. He was held in prison but later released free of charge.

Guilty or not, he's an odd sort of chap. As Catherine pointed out, it's difficult to tell if he's male or female. But he was the architect of Lolo's transformation into a big-breasted, thick-lipped woman.

At the funeral, Catherine turned on him rather like Angela Harris turned on Martin at her daughter Katy's burial in Coronation Street. Catherine accused him of turning "a good person into a freak show".

It's difficult not to agree with her when you learn that Lolo's breasts - which went from 37D to 54K by the time she was 33 - earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Lolo was in her early 20s when she met and married Vigne. He was the artist who redesigned her, she admitted. She had 22 operations in five years to alter her face and figure. Her implants were designed by an engineer who worked on Boeing 747s (as an engineer not a steward, I assume).

There is evidence that Lolo herself wanted to be changed. She had a complex about her mouth, not liking being touched there. Doctors now believe this could have been a rare condition.

She also spoke about the reasons for boosting her boobs, saying breasts were maternal and represented childhood innocence. Certainly, she had a miserable childhood, feeling unloved by her mother.

The documentary made clear that this emotionally fragile woman was ripe for exploitation by others. But she took great pride in her gigantic breasts. Her plastic surgeon said that "her breasts were her happiness, of that I am certain".

But big wasn't best for Lolo. The public grew tired of what they saw as a gimmick. She drifted into prostitution, with Vigne being found guilty of pimping his wife, and pornography.

An impromptu strip for photographers on the beach at Cannes in 1995 brought her global fame, if not happiness. She lived in fear of a crazed fan trying to puncture her breasts. She was said to have a fear of flying in case her breasts exploded mid-air.

No wonder she became depressed. Five years after her death, the mystery remains. The idea that she killed herself with a drugs overdose was followed by a second autopsy suggesting she might have been asphyxiated.

Vigne continues to plead his innocence. Catherine Valois continues to accuse him. And the busty image of Lolo Ferrari lives on in repeats of Eurotrash.

Published: 29/04/2005