IT is never too late to follow your dreams as Hampshire pensioner Cherry Harker will vouch.

At the age of 76 the go-getting entrepreneur would give Lord Sugar and his Apprentice candidates a run for their money with her must-have sports swimwear brand.

In fact, her clothing - including designer macs, has created such a splash in the fashion world she can cite celebrities such as Kylie Minogue and Lily Allen among her customers.

Incredibly Cherry has battled and beaten cancer twice but this has only infused her with more energy as she shuns retirement to fulfill her life-long goal.

Cherry who lives at Mockbeggar near Ringwood has designed and launched a sports performance swimwear brand called ZwimZuit which is manufactured in Poole, Dorset and has customers across the globe.

It's unique selling point is that it stays in place no matter how active you are whilst looking fabulous too.

And that has been an ambition of Cherry's ever since she was a self-conscious teenager holidaying with the rich, famous and beautiful in the South of France.

The daughter of Rolls-Royce’s first test pilot, Ronnie Harker, Cherry used to holiday in the late 50s and early 60s in Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez, alongside icons Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot, and the notorious Christine Keeler, as well as writer Simone de Beauvoir, and artist Jean Cocteau.

"I've never really followed a normal path in terms of following a career," said Cherry.

"Coming out of school in the late 50's my father didn't want me to go into higher education. He believed a chap would come along for me on a white charger and that would be it but life is not like that.

We had a small chicken farm and we use to run eggs up to Soho restaurants and we use to run horses at home. When I was 17 it was decided to send me to Swiss finishing school . I ducked out of that after six months . It wasn't me. It was all sewing and cooking and I was never any good, although I got good at skiing and skating there!"

Cherry's father Ronnie Harker, OBE, has his place in the history of aviation for the role he played in the evolution of the Mustang fighter into one of the great warplanes of its era and he remains a great role model for Cherry.

"My father was the first test pilot for Rolls Royce and when he finished flying after the war he was the liaison person between Rolls Royce and and the Air Force. He was the top military aviation consultant and put Merlin's engines into Mustangs which enabled bombers to get deep into Germany. We moved to Knightsbridge because of his position and our very first summer holiday was paid for by Rolls Royce. I was 17 and fresh out of finishing school . I was as green as the grass and had put on a bit of weight. It was very glamorous. We stayed in Casino Square and went to all these exclusive casinos. Grace Kelly was wandering round and Winston Churchill was doing painting sat in the corner.

I wasn't wearing bikinis at that time as I was shy but I was aware of watching all these people, their shapes and how they were wearing their swim suits and you would notice if people were diving they wouldn't stay on. For the next seven years we would have a month in the South of France each year . Nice was all about the bikini and by that time I'd lost a lot of weight and I tried water skiing and realised my bikini didn't do the job. The water pushed your bottoms down. I pretty much learnt how to water-ski one-handed; one hand on the tow-handle and one hand holding my briefs up”.

Cherry has never forgotten that experience and decades later she decided to do something about it.

Twenty years ago Cherry suffered from breast cancer, and then five years later was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her husband John says with immense pride that she is “a fighter” and Cherry believes her experience with cancer has focused her mind to achieve more – no matter what her age.

And so ZwimZuit - the fitness bikini that stays in place was born. With an acute eye for fashion, Cherry, together with her daughter Tamarisk, a costume designer based in London, has created a range of fitness bikinis that suit active women with natural curves. Made of specialist neoprene material - which is similar to wetsuit fabric, it enables women to be as relaxed or active as they want to be, and not have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction.

Cherry has also helped launch her daughter’s boutique clothing brand ChicFreak with her daughter Tamarisk and husband John. The sought-after vinyl and lace “Le Mac” was featured in Vogue, worn by Kylie Minogue in her music video “Kiss Me Once” and Lily Allen in her video “Hard Out Here”, as well as seen on a number of celebrities including Perrie Edwards, Jameela Jamil and Amber Rose.

No-one knows swimwear as well as Cherry she says for she has seen every swimwear fashion change over the last 60 years. She understands what women want; confidence, a flattering cut, the hottest style, and trust that a bikini stays where it should.

And so Cherry has decided to use her expertise to create a sports performance and fashion swimwear brand for the action girl.

Cherry designed the bold, panelled bikinis safe in the knowledge that they will perform. A breakthrough came when she found one of the few remaining specialist swimwear makers in Poole. It’s a true family business with husband John, 63, looking after the commercial side of the business - taking care of the orders and global dispatch.

ZwimZuit, which is exclusively available online, has proved highly popular on social media. Made In Chelsea’s Louise Thompson has photographed herself wearing ZwimZuit in her yoga work outs.

Cherry added: “It’s such a thrill to see girls from the U.K., U.S., Europe, Australia, and all over the world, wearing our British designed and made swimwear - particularly when they tag us #zwimzuit, in their selfies”.

Now with orders flying out Cherry says: "I wanted to do this because I don't really know what retirement is. My father didn't either. He worked into his 70's as a freelance aviation consultant. You must keep going otherwise if you don't have a project what do you do? My father had a charmed life. When my mother died in 1980 he remarried four months later. He said at his age he couldn't afford to hang about and he had another 20 years of marriage."

Cherry says that having cancer twice - breast cancer at 53 and cervical cancer at 60, "was a shock" but she "just got on with it".

"I was very fortunate as they caught it quickly both times. I think that might have ended very differently so be very thankful you are here and around and just enjoy yourself. I look at Mary Berry at 83. She's fantastic and her energy levels are incredible . I'm also a great admirer of Judy Dench . These people just keep going and you just have to keep going too."