Barbara Haigh, a former Playboy Bunny, has revealed that women working at the London club in the 1970s had little room to gain weight and could be dismissed if bosses decided they no longer had the right look.
Haigh was 21 when she joined the Park Lane venue in 1971. She said staff had to sign up to strict appearance rules covering everything from weight to make-up, with even visible birthmarks expected to be covered.
Strict appearance rules
Recalling the application process, Haigh said: "So you weren't really allowed to put on any weight or there was a bit of leeway but not too much."
Staff supplied their height and weight, received a training manual and signed a contract agreeing to follow the rules, she explained. Speaking to OMG Stories Up Close, she described the demanding standards at Playboy's first overseas club.
She recalled: "No tattoos, no blemishes that would have drawn attention. One girl had a birth mark on her arm. She had to cover that with stage makeup, things like that. It was very very strict."
Dismissal and other rules
According to Haigh, directors dining at the club would sometimes spot something they disliked about a worker's appearance. At the end of the shift, that employee could be taken upstairs and dismissed.
She said: "That was the famous one liner, 'Sorry, you've lost your bunny image. Sorry, you don't have any bunny image.' And they would just say 'bye bye'. And that was it. And you had no recourse."
The rules extended beyond appearances. Haigh said "street speak" was forbidden, and recalled a young woman with a strong Cockney accent being sent for elocution lessons. Three years later, she was crowned Bunny of the Year.
Demanding work and fond memories
The work was physically demanding, too. Dressed in a corset, rabbit ears and three-inch heels, Haigh spent eight-hour shifts rushed off her feet. She was expected to memorise 300 cocktails and the names of hundreds of spirit brands, describing the knowledge required as "just unbelievable".
Despite those demands, she remembers the role with affection – something her father, a senior police officer, initially struggled to understand. Haigh had worked in a bank after leaving school and later held several other jobs, including at a travel agency. While working at a Liverpool nightclub, she was put forward for an interview with Playboy.
Her father refused to speak to her for six weeks after she secured the job. She recalled: "He wasn't too happy about it. He was a police officer and a high-ranking one. First thing he said to me was, 'You're selling your body.'"
The London venue opened in July 1966, bringing together gambling and glamorous staff on Park Lane. Hugh Hefner later told GQ Magazine: "I came back from that opening convinced I was looking at the future. The miniskirt had just arrived, gambling was prevalent, sexual attitudes had changed dramatically."
Haigh described the venue as a "sophisticated family restaurant", where women and children were welcome. The casino operated under separate rules and required members to be registered.
Among the famous faces she recalled meeting were Jack Nicholson, Omar Sharif, Dustin Hoffman, Stevie Wonder, Sylvester Stallone and John Wayne. She also said she "met royalty" during her 12 years at Playboy. The Park Lane club closed in 1981, with Hefner subsequently opening a Playboy Club in Mayfair in 2011.
For Haigh, the Bunnies were glamorous professionals working in the "creme de la creme of nightclubs". Asked whether she would take the job again at 21, she had no hesitation.
She said: "Absolutely. With both hands. Best job in the world. Used to look forward to going into work. You know, you'd be in agony. Your feet would be killing you."
Haigh added that the training was designed to set them apart from ordinary waiting staff: "You're not a waitress dear, you're a bunny, you're a cocktail bunny."
