The Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model competition is seriously fierce this year, and right now it’s impossible to predict who will win the prize, which includes a modelling contract, a magazine cover shoot and a cosmetics contract.
As before, the show’s host is Elle ‘The Body’ Macpherson and the judging panel is made up of fashion designer Julien Macdonald, stylist Grace Woodward and former Calvin Klein model Charley Speed, each offering their unique take on the industry.
Irish interest came courtesy of Joanne Northy from Greystones, Co Wicklow, who Elle has dubbed the ‘baby face’ of the group, but who has now been eliminated; Hannah Devenne from Dublin and Stacey Haskins from Belfast, who here gives us the lowdown on her modelling ambitions.
Stacey Haskins
Hometown: Belfast
Age: 19
Occupation: Student Childcare Volunteer
Favourite model: Tyra Banks
Favourite designers: Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton
Sarah McIntyre: Were you excited to be picked for BINTM?
Stacey Haskins: Very excited! For them to come over to Ireland to give us all a chance was such a great opportunity. Not once did I think I’d get picked out of all the beautiful girls!
SMI: Had you done any modelling or considered a career in modelling?
SH: I’d done a bit of promotion work but not modelling, no. For my 18th birthday my mum got me a portfolio done. That was really it! That was so much fun doing the portfolio.
SMI: Have you discovered a real passion for modelling then?
SH: Yeah definitely. I sent my pictures away to agencies before and some of them turned me down, saying that I didn’t have the right look – the Northern Ireland look, the beauty queen look, with the long hair and stuff. So it really was a big confidence boost to get through.
SMI: You’ve said you were bullied at school because you were so tall – do you feel proud now of your looks?
SH: Definitely, because when I was in school it was awful. They called me ‘Big Bird’ and made fun of me or tripped me up because I was tall.
SMI: What’s been your favourite part of the show?
SH: My favourite bit was probably getting put through to the house, I couldn’t believe it! Me and Hannah were holding each other saying ‘We knew we weren’t going to get through!’ We were so nervous that day, so the relief was amazing.
SMI: How do you get on with the other contestants in the house?
SH: I get on great with them all. I still keep in contact with them all, especially Hannah and Joanne. We’re always texting and phoning each other.
SMI: What sets you apart from the other girls on the show?
SH: I was watching the show today and Elle said that I was unique and different with my pale skin and I think that’s what sets me apart. I have a really high fashion look, which is good, and then isn’t good, because I can’t do commercials!
SMI: Do you have any big modelling ambitions?
SH: I would love to get signed by an agency in London and go over there and do London Fashion Week or New York!
SMI: How do you get along with the judges?
SH: I loved all the judges. We didn’t get to see what the judges said about us, so it was good to see that all of them liked me and not one of them didn’t. I was dreading it, sitting on the sofa going ‘What are they going to say?’ I think they’re all great and they’re very supportive and they teach you a lot about the industry that you wouldn’t have known beforehand.
SMI: Is Elle a role model for you?
SH: Definitely, because she has modelled right up since her 20s, and now she has her own underwear range and she’s still modelling. She’s just a proper businesswoman and she’s on the TV so it just goes to show you that modelling doesn’t last forever, you need to have a back-up plan. After Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model, I went back and finished college because she did say that you need to go in case it doesn’t work out.
SMI: Have you learned a lot about modelling since being on the show?
SH: Yes definitely because I was 19 doing the show and I had never been away from home before, so being over there was a big reality check for me for what it’s going to be like. It is hard work, it’s not all fun and games but it’s worth it.
Watch Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model, 9.00pm, Monday, Sky Living.
