Jayne Houghton and Heather Gratton won a place on a property developing programme by indulging in a little stripping - and not of wallpaper.

The upfront pair replaced their bras with strategically-placed paint pots.

Curvy Jayne juggled two 1.5 litre pots while the more moderately-endowed Heather positioned two match pots over her assets.

The picture - taken by Heather's husband Rob - not only secured them the job but also earned them the nicknames Trinny and Tranny after another TV double act of similar proportions, Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall, fashion snobs and presenters of What Not To Wear.

Alas, Heather and Jayne have decided to keep their attention-grabbing picture under wraps until the programme is aired.

After some severe vetting, Jayne and Heather, who have no TV experience, have never worked together, know nothing about property development and have five children between them, landed their dream job.

During the next nine months, they will be given £250,000 to buy and sell at least three properties. At the end of the series, they will be allowed to keep any profits they make.

Their efforts will be tracked by a camera crew from RDF Media, makers of Bafta-winning TV show Faking It and Wife Swap. The programme is backed by Five and will be shown as a six-hour documentary next year.

Jayne, of Melville Road, Hove, said: "We never, ever thought we would get it but I think THAT picture caught their attention. Since then, they've never called us Jayne and Heather, just Trinny and Tranny."

Filming began in July and the women are already used to cameras following their every move.

Jayne laughingly predicts the programme will be "The Osbournes meets Changing Rooms".

"I can't divine if that is a compliment or not! It's not a makeover programme and it's not just about the property business. It's also about the domino effect it has on our family and working lives."

Jayne, 39, runs her own PR and event management company, working with people like Blur, Moby, New Order and Boy George and organising launches and festivals like Glastonbury. She is a single mother to Sam, eight, and Stella, five.

Heather, 42, of Walsingham Road, Hove, used to be a relocation agent, finding homes for newcomers to Brighton and Hove.

She is not currently working but is married to Rob Mockett, a Kemp Town GP, and has three children, Max, 16, Frankie, 12, and Hunter, nine.

Jayne spotted an advert in the Sunday Times for couples who wanted to take part in a property trading programme for Five.

She said: "I have always loved doing up properties and nosing round other people's places.

"This seemed like a brilliant opportunity so I rang the number and left a really pushy, PR message on their answer machine."

Three weeks later, in the middle of a launch party, the production company rang to interview her.

"I was a bit tipsy so, aided by champagne, I was a bit cocky and confident. I was on the phone for over an hour, gave them this big spiel about how Heather and I meshed and talked them into giving us a go."

Then she broke the news to Heather, who knew nothing of Jayne's grand plans.

"She just rang me up and said we were going to London for a screen test."

The pair found themselves up against hundreds of hopefuls eager to take up the TV challenge.

But a few weeks later RDF announced it wanted to come to Brighton and spend two days filming the women with each other and with their families. They also had to be police-checked.

Eventually, they were told they had the job - one of two "couples" taking part in the programme.

Jayne said: "They said our relationship would make brilliant telly - we are a good double act."

It's a wonder the women are friends at all. They first met 17 years ago through a mutual friend in London and didn't hit it off.

Heather said: "I didn't like her - I thought she was snotty."

A few years later Jayne moved to Brighton, Heather found her a house and they have been friends since.

Although they are clearly peas in a pod, they are also very different.

Jayne said: "Heather's home is a shrine to minimal ism. Mine is all clutter and kitsch. We end up bickering over floor coverings in Allied Carpets. In fact I had to drag Heather in there - she doesn't do fitted carpets."

Heather said: "Jayne is very good at the business side, wheeling and dealing and manipulating things. I'm more the creative one with an eye on design."

They also chuckle over the difference in their choice of holidays - Heather is camping in Suffolk, Jayne is sunning herself in St Lucia. But they are deadly serious about the job in hand.

Heather said: "We have an awful lot to learn. We're not a threat to established property developers because they are in a different league - we are just baby developers."

"But," Jayne interjects, "we are both prepared to sacrifice some of our lives and commit ourselves to this programme for nine months. And failure is not an option."

Heather said Brighton and Hove was crawling with property developers - all of them men.

"It's a man's world," she says. "But not any more," Jayne says, finishing her sentence for her.

The documentary makers drop in and out on the women's lives every week. If they are going to view a property, make a major decision or if there is a big family event, the cameras are there to record it.

Jayne said: "They filmed Stella's bouncy castle birthday party. She loved it - she's such a drama queen. Because they only use one camera, it's easy to forget it's there. For prime time TV there is going to be a lot of bleeping!"

Is she not worried that a warts-and-all observational documentary might have some unflattering top spin?

"I know a lot about how to play the media game and I can spot a set-up a mile off. I don't especially want to be filmed getting stressed and shouting at my kids as I go round Sainsbury's.

"I think if it was just a one-off programme they would sensationalise it but they want us to make as much money as possible and they want the viewers to be rooting for us."

Apart from her own homes, Jayne's only taste of the property world was buying a flat in Eastbourne last year and doing it up to rent.

She said: "In nine months, I'd like us to have made enough money to continue to buy more properties. It's crazy really. I was busy enough before and now it's ludicrous - I'm even dreaming about moving and fitted kitchens.

"If I thought it would jeopardise our friendship I would never have done it. But, it hasn't, it's great. Even with the added pressure of being filmed, it couldn't be easier."

The yet-to-be named show, which also features another pair of property developers based in the North, will go out next spring for an hour a week over six weeks.

In the meantime, Hove's newest double act will be wheeling and dealing, squabbling over floor coverings - and possibly stripping off to get their way.