Sarah McIntyre caught up with Britain's Next Top Model contestant Susan Loughnane, who hails from Malahide, to get the lowdown on host Elle MacPherson, the new judging panel and her top competition in the show.
Sarah McIntyre: We’ve just seen the first episode of the new season of Britain’s Next Top Model. Congratulations on getting into the final fourteen. How did it feel to qualify the way you did, as the surprise fourteenth contestant?
Susan Loughnane: That was just painful! You see the thing is when you see it on the telly it looks like it happened over the space of a few minutes and I was totally overreacting, but actually that took about three hours to record and we were all in painful high heels and it was really stressful, traumatic situation. I don’t think that really comes across. So my reaction, I was really overwhelmed, you know that kind of way. To be honest I didn’t think I’d get through, I had a lot of doubt.
SMI: You’ve seen the first show now, what it is like seeing the judge’s reaction. Elle obviously has a soft spot for you, whereas Grace actually criticised you and said you weren’t pretty - which is obviously ridiculous!
SL: I was just laughing at all that because what’s so ironic about that is that Grace is the judge that I got on with the most as the show went on. At that stage in the competition, at the very beginning at bootcamp, I didn’t know them that well. Sure Grace was probably just saying what she thought the producers wanted her to say. The two that were ‘for’ me, which would have been Elle and Julien, wouldn’t have been even my favourites. I did really love Elle, I thought she was a great woman and all, but I connected much better with Grace as it went on. So I thought it was funny when I heard her say that, it didn’t really bother me or anything. I just thought “Ah that’s gas that she said that!” because later on in the competition we really got on well. And I thought she was very honest with me, she would say things to me that I felt like, “Yeah, you’re right” even if it was criticism. I thought she was very honest whereas a lot of the time I felt like Julien and Elle were making great TV and stuff, but I thought Grace was the most honest.
SMI: Do you think she became more of a fan of you as the show went on?
SL: I dunno about a fan of me, but we got on personality-wise. We clicked a lot better than I did with any of the other judges but I don’t know whether she was necessarily a fan of me as a model but it was just that we got on.
SMI: Your background is in acting, you trained in New York, do you think this has helped you as a model?
SL: To be honest, I still only really want to be an actor. I did the show as a challenge to myself and for a bit of fun because work had dried up in Ireland a while ago, when funding went from all the projects and the start of the whole recession, there wasn’t a lot of work going on so that’s why I decided to do the show. I wanted something else to do to branch out. Mainly I just want to be an actress. I think the show’s a great opportunity to get my name out there. I do think acting really helps as a model and all that, but it’s not what I want to do as a long-term career. I do really enjoy it for it what it is, but acting is my main focus.
SMI: It being on a TV show it must change things a bit too, most models wouldn’t have to think about how their personalities are portrayed. Did you think a lot about that when you were on the show, how you wanted to be seen by the audience?
SL: Yeah I thought a lot about it before I went on the show. I saw down and chatted about it with friends. We figured that a lot of the time the girls that stay on are the girls who are the loudest, the most opinionated, or have very strong characters that are likely to clash. And I could’ve played a character but I was worried about how I would come across and I really didn’t want to jeopardise my career as an actress with people thinking that I wasn’t good to work with, or that I was a diva, or that I was argumentative, or that I was bitchy. So my career naturally came first and I decided not to go with a character and just be myself and steer clear of arguments and confrontations because I’m not an argumentative person anyway.
SMI: Well you actually come across as very genuine on the show.
SL: I decided to be myself in the end, and just enjoy it. I don’t know if that makes great TV we’ll see anyway!
SMI: And how did you find you got on with the other 13 contestants who made the cut?
SL: I made about three friends that I’ll keep forever. And then after that, they’re a lot younger than me. I’m one of the oldest girls and a lot of them were very young. I think there’s a big gap between 18 or 23, I think you grow up a lot in that time. It’s a big age difference I think. I thought some of the girls were very young.
SMI: Who do you think is your biggest competition out of the girls?
SL: I think Joy is the best model in us, in my view. If I was a designer or a photographer I’d want to work with her. But I think she gets upset a lot and that stands against her. But then Amelia, I think she’s phenomenal. She’s the other redhead. She didn’t stand out in the first episode because I think she’s very shy and stuff. But I think there’s more to her than that. I think she’s a real sweetheart and I really like her. I think she has a lot to give. It’s hard to know though isn’t it!
SMI: What do you think sets you apart from the other contestants?
SL: Well I guess being Irish. It can hinder you and it can stand to you as well. I did give myself a hard time a lot, which I think is a very Irish thing. I was always looking around going “These girls are great, who do I think I am doing this?” But then again, being Irish does help you with being natural and comfortable and happy in who you are, so it’s really hard to know. I think it sets me apart, but for good and bad reasons!
SMI: Do you find working as a model makes you more conscious of your looks and how you take care of yourself than working as an actress?
SL: Yeah definitely, I’m a lot better with how I look after myself now than I used to be. I don’t drink very much anymore and I would be a lot more aware of wearing sunscreen and stuff. Just little things with looking after yourself because you need longevity as well. It’s the same as acting; you need to last in the business. You can’t start going on binges and destroying yourself before you give your career a go. It’s a good influence on me I think.
SMI: You’re based in London now?
SL: Pretty much. I’m actually in Ireland at the moment, I’m at the Galway Film Fleadh. And I’ve been filming in Galway for the last while on a TV series. So I have been over and back. There have been a lot of plane journeys! I’ve been travelling so much. But I love it, I love the excuse to come to the countryside, the contrast is so different.
SMI: Finally Susan, what’s your biggest ambition career wise and what’s in store for you next?
SL: Well obviously I’m going to keep acting, and just keep going with auditioning and stuff. And that’s what I want to make of my career longterm. Obviously that’s not easy, but the thing is modelling isn’t easy either, and it’s not a thing that I’m interested in like photography and art. And none of them are easy, but I think you have to go with the thing that you’re most passionate about. I think for me, I just need to keep going with it now and hopefully I’ll make a career of it.
SMI: You’ve come across very well on the show so far so hopefully that’ll get you some fans!
SL: It would be nice for people to remember me by it, that would be great.
Watch Britain's Next Top Model on Monday nights at 9pm on Living.
