UK's number one male model is trying hard to prove he is more than just ‘the man in pants'

But David Gandy is having the last laugh after it was revealed yesterday that he is the only male to appear in a list of the top 10 best-paid British models.

Gandy, from Billericay, Essex, earned £4million last year mainly as a result of contracts with Dolce & Gabbana and Marks & Spencer.

Only Cara Delevingne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Kate Moss took home more in 2016.

Despite turning 37 earlier this year, Gandy shows no sign of relinquishing his place at the top of a profession that he has taken by storm after winning a TV competition in 2001.

Gandy wanted to be a vet but he wasn’t good at school so instead went on to study computing and marketing at the University of Gloucestershire.

Then his life took a very different path when, without his knowledge, his fl atmate at the time entered him in a competition run by Richard and Judy on ITV’s This Morning.

The first prize included a contract with Select Model Management – and Gandy has not looked back since.

His breakthrough opened the door to deals with fashion labels H&M, Zara and Hugo Boss. Then in 2007 he earned that nickname when Dolce & Gabbana chose him to become the face of its Light Blue aftershave campaign.

Except it was not just his unshaven, chiselled features and blue eyes that drew attention.

Gandy wore a pair of white pants commonly known as budgiesmugglers or tighty whities.

His rippling, tanned torso was on a 50ft-high billboard in Times Square, New York, which brought pedestrian traffic to a halt. The advert – and his little white pants – attracted 11 million views online.

Catwalk appearances in similar tight pants followed and ever since clothing brands have unsurprisingly fallen over one another to get him to wear their smalls.

He has even “designed” his own range of pants for M&S and when swimwear joined the range a pair of Gandy trunks sold every minute on the collection’s first day in stores.

If anyone could “sex up” the high street, it is Gandy and he admits: “I probably wouldn’t be here without Light Blue.”

His first sniff of the perfume that made his name was onboard the boat on the way to the shoot in Capri.

Many years later it is with Dolce & Gabbana that he is most associated, to the extent that the fashion house was compelled to launch a 280-page coffee table book of images chronicling their collaborations.

Yet the model has also revealed that his success took him by surprise.

“The trend was for skinny, androgynous guys who had bodies more like girls,” he says.

“In my teens lookswise I was nothing to write home about and had no idea about fashion. At school I wasn’t the guy who got the girls or was thought to be hot. I have grown into my looks.

When my friends said they had sent my pictures in for the competition, I thought they were joking.

“Modelling wasn’t seen as an aspirational thing. It wasn’t a manly job.”

Gandy has also admitted that it took a while to feel comfortable posing nearly naked, knowing that the images would be viewed and lusted over by millions of people.

“It’s definitely something that you have to get used to,” he says.

“This is the weirdest thing in the world. I’ve never been particularly confident in front of the camera. I’m not into being the centre of attention but I knew if I wanted to be successful in the industry, it was something I would have to get over.”

It is why he tries to keep his professional and personal lives separate, stating that there are two David Gandys: the model and the bloke who loves driving cars and hanging out with his mates in Essex.

When his giant image adorned Times Square, he says he was never tempted to see it, insisting: “It’s not really me.”

Gandy also guards his love life, never revealing who he is dating.

However, it is known he has had relationships with a number of celebrities including Mollie King of girl band The Saturdays.

More recently he has been linked with lawyer Stephanie Mendoros. It is reported they have been an item since April and they were seen together at a polo event in West Sussex earlier this month.

Gandy is more at ease giving tips on how he maintains his enviable physique, revealing: “I have always played sports since I was young so I have always been in the gym. And I am nutritionally aware so I know what to eat.

“Having the willpower to say no to certain things is the hardest. I have a sweet tooth.”

Gandy was the only male model chosen to appear at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, proving that he is not just a clothes horse.

He has also endorsed whisky and Jaguar cars. Away from the catwalk he gets his thrills from racing cars and has twice competed in Italy’s Mille Miglia (1,000 miles) event.

The action man has also tried his hand at powerboat racing. On a more cerebral level Gandy has put his university education to good use by writing for GQ and Vogue magazines, while he has been involved in several charity campaigns.

Gandy has also been an ambassador for the British Fashion Council, has recently been focusing on his own business ventures and has dabbled in acting.

He was approached for a role in the film Fifty Shades Of Grey but turned down the opportunity. When he is not doing macho things, Gandy, who lives in Fulham, London, has added yet another string to his bow by collecting antique clocks.

There is no doubt that our top male model is easy on the eye and looks great in pants. But Gandy is determined to go on showing that there is more to him than just a pair of smalls. 

“Models are as popular as bankers,” he laments.

“You are seen as a brainless idiot and paid a fortune to do very little. I don’t want to just be known as the man in pants.”