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A professional cuddler who makes a living giving clients hugs has said people travel from all over the globe to receive the cuddle therapy she offers which is “far less intimate than a massage” and helps people from “all walks of life”. Natasha Wicks, 44, from Coventry, West Midlands, says that despite criticism, cuddling is scientifically proven to release happy hormones like dopamine and that a lot of her clients are “the big spoon in life” and go to her for emotional support that they do not have at home. As such, many of her clients are caregivers and most of them join Natasha for two-hour hugging sessions, costing £70 an hour. The sessions vary depending on what the client wants, some having “emotional hugs”, others talking more and some wanting to “sit at opposite ends of the sofa with our legs and feet entwined”. Natasha became a cuddle therapist in 2015 and, while she has had comments online from people criticising the practice, she said that her family and friends were unsurprised when she first started giving professional cuddles. She said: “They all said to me that I give the best cuddles so it’s not surprising that I’d start doing it as a job. “It’s very much what I do, I help people and want to make people feel better. It’s a natural thing when someone is going through a tough time to want to give them a hug. “Cuddle therapy might not be as widely accepted in society but it’s far less intimate than other things like massages which are seen as normal.” Prior to becoming a cuddler, Natasha originally trained as a CBT therapist and counsellor. She said: “There’d be situations where I would be talking to someone and they’d really need a hug, but obviously, you’d have professional boundaries in place and it wouldn’t have been appropriate. “It was just a really natural thing. One client had finished her final session and we had agreed that she wasn’t my patient anymore so we hugged goodbye. She said to me that she’d wanted to do that for a long time and I thought ‘me too’.” Looking into cuddle therapy, which she said was increasing in popularity in 2014, Natasha took a training course. By 2015, she was a qualified cuddler and started taking on new patients for cuddle sessions. Natasha provides a minimum session of one hour but said most people go for at least two hours, sometimes longer if they are receiving more than one type of therapy. She said: “I always give people a hug on the doorstep when they arrive and then they’ll come in and relax, and we’ll have an initial chat about what brings them here. After that, I’ll put on some ambient music and we’ll have a cuddle on my cuddle sofa. “It can be daunting coming into a stranger’s house and I can tell the difference in them from arriving to leaving. The first hug they might be angled away from me but when we’re hugging goodbye, I can get my head in between their neck and shoulders and you can almost feel that a weight has been lifted from them.” There is not one type of person that visits Natasha for cuddles, but she says that a lot of her clients are caregivers. She said: “There’s all sorts of people who come for a cuddle, from people who have moved away from home for the first time and just want a mum hug all the way to people in their 80s. “I’m inclusive of all genders and all ages. I get a lot of clients who are the carers of their family and they are so busy looking after other people, and probably giving the hugs and support to other people, that they don’t have that for themselves. “A lot of people that come to see me are generally people are the big spoon in the life – they take care of others and don’t want to show a vulnerable side to people because they don’t want people to worry that they can’t cope. “I get a lot of carers, a lot of NHS staff, a lot of mums, a lot of people that are in a world where they have to be the strong one in the situation and they just want to be able to come here and let their guard down.” Natasha’s priority is to make people feel at ease when they arrive as she said it can be “nerve wracking” turning up at someone’s house for a hug. Setting out clear boundaries prior to meeting, the therapist has said that the patients she has welcomed into her home have all been respectful. She added: “I always say to people that when your body relaxes, your tummy might crumble and mine might too, but that people don’t need to worry about it. Sometimes people fall asleep and they might snore or fart, it’s just natural things that happen. It’s happened twice where someone has got an erection and that’s fine, I have boundaries and we’ll just change position. “I want people to feel reassured that, as soon as they get in, they feel comfortable.” Despite the unconventional therapy, when Natasha first took on cuddle clients, she said her family were completely “unsurprised” and the step from CBT therapy to cuddle therapy was a “natural evolution”. While Natasha focuses her time on a holistic approach for treating people, she noted that there is also neuroscience behind cuddles. According to the 44-year-old, physical touch activates the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex and cuddling releases oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. Now, Natasha also does EMDR therapy and is a mental health swim host, and has clients travel from all over the globe to receive her hugs. She said: “Working from Coventry is brilliant because I’m only nine minutes on the train from Birmingham Airport and people come to visit me from all over. I get a client from Belgium, someone from Ireland and people from all over the UK who come to see me. “I wanted to find a sofa bed that just looked like a big comfy sofa for cuddle sessions. I’d started off with a big L shaped sofa but after about five years, it was sagging a bit, there’d been a lot of healing done on that sofa and it was time for a new one. “Now I have a sofa bed in my living room that I use as my cuddle sofa. It’s in the living room and it’s used for everyday life, watching TV with my partner, having people round and also for my work.” Breaking down the taboo around cuddle therapy, Natasha hopes more people will embrace the alternative treatment. She added: “As it’s become more popular, more people are becoming qualified as cuddlers and I think that’s great. “I’ve had comments online before of people thinking it’s weird or not understanding but there are other things we accept in society that are much more intimate than cuddles, like massages. “It’s not weird, it’s actually a really lovely thing to be able to make another soul feel better for a while.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live What is ‘beer tanning’ and why are experts warning against it? Christian Cowan: Designing is like dreaming Deborah James’s daughter launches anniversary clothing line for Bowelbabe Fund

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The Barbie cast’s recent photocall has sparked hilarious reactions after fans noticed Margot Robbie was the only one dressed in the doll’s iconic pink, while the rest of the cast seemingly missed the memo with their beige attire. On 25 June, the Barbie cast gathered together in Los Angeles to promote the highly-anticipated live-action film, which is set to be released on 21 July. Robbie, who’s worn a number of Barbie-themed outfits throughout the movie’s press tour, continued her fashion streak with a pink polka-dot Valentino minidress for the event. Robbie’s stylist Andrew Mukamel seemingly confirmed her custom-made Barbiecore dress was inspired by one of the Mattel toy’s own outfits, the “Pink & Fabulous” Barbie from 2015, on Instagram, where he shared side-by-side photos of the outfits. The Australian actor accessorised the look with a pair of white Manolo Blahnik pumps and a yellow quilted Valentino purse with studs. However, it was the “sad beige” outfits worn by Robbie’s fellow Barbie cast mates that captured everyone’s attention. The 32-year-old actor was photographed alongside Barbie director Greta Gerwig and co-stars Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, and Kate McKinnon. Gosling, who plays Barbie’s paramour Ken in the upcoming film, wore a cream-coloured cardigan over white T-shirt and black Levi’s jeans, while co-writer and director Gerwig opted for a beige pleated midi-skirt and taupe crewneck Prada sweater. Insecure alum Issa Rae also kept it neutral in a sand-coloured high-neck sleeveless top and matching trousers. America Ferrera, who plays a Mattel employee in the movie, wore an ivory lace Elie Saab tiered dress. Former Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon donned a grey, three-piece suit, while actor Michael Cera chose simple black pants, and black tee under a navy blue button-up shirt. Unsurprisingly, it was the Barbie cast’s neutral-themed outfits that had fans up in arms, with many taking to Twitter to criticise Robbie’s cast mates for the lack of dedication to the Barbie theme. “Only Margot knows her assignment,” tweeted one fan. “That’s why she’s Barbie.” “it should be illegal to wear any colour other than pink to a Barbie event,” another claimed, while someone else asked: “What’s going on with all the sad beige?” However, some fans believed that the drab fashion choice was actually intentional, like one person, who tweeted: “Everyone saying ‘why is Margot the only one in pink,’ bro she’s literally Barbie and I’m almost entirely certain everyone wearing beige but her is intentional”. “Actually maybe it was on purpose because what are the odds they’re all in neutrals lol. Helps her stand out as THE #Barbie,” someone else claimed. “I might be wrong but I feel like all the beige is intentional,” a third user wrote. “Margot is Barbie so they would want her to stand out. The hate is so unserious.” Despite the lacklustre photocall appearance, the Barbie cast’s fashion has remained on theme throughout much of the movie’s press tour. While attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas last April, Ryan Gosling arrived wearing a pink bomber jacket over a T-shirt with director Greta Gerwig’s name printed across it in the classic Barbie font. The 42-year-old actor also embraced his character’s famous look in the live-action film, in which he sports bleach-blonde highlights and a fake tan. During the event, Gosling told fans that he had previously “doubted his Ken-ergy,” but he eventually channelled his “inner Ken” with the help of his co-stars. “If I’m being really honest, I doubted my Ken-ergy. I didn’t see it. Margot and Greta, I feel like they conjured this out of me somewhere,” he said. He explained that, one moment, he was living his life as usual until, “one day, I was bleaching my hair and shaving my legs and wearing bespoke neon outfits and rollerblading down Venice Beach”. “It came on like a fever, like a Scarlet fever,” he said. “Like: ‘Why is there fake tanner on my sheets? Why am I wearing jackets without shirts? What just happened.’” Fans also caught a glimpse at the movie’s life-size Barbie Dreamhouse, where Barbie lives in the fantastical Barbieland. In a video shared by Architectural Digest, Robbie gave a tour of her character’s all-pink kitchen and a water slide, which leads from Barbie’s bedroom to her pool. “The dreamhouse came straight out of a fairytale book,” one fan said. “It really is something Barbie would want to live in. As always, this channel is always the best at what they do.” “Watching the Architectural Digest tour of the Barbie Dreamhouse isn’t enough,” another tweeted. “I need to live there.” Barbie hits theatres on 21 July in the US. Read More Barbie fans love Margot Robbie’s Architectural Digest tour of Dreamhouse: ‘Came out of a fairytale book’ Barbie caused a ‘worldwide’ shortage of pink paint Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae and Simu Liu react to their own doll replicas Outfit choices for Barbie cast photo sparks hilarious reactions Fans love Margot Robbie’s Architectural Digest tour of pink Barbie Dreamhouse Influencers called out after promoting Shein factory in China