Britain and Ireland's Next Top model saw two girls eliminated this week - Tanya and Stacey. Tanya left after refusing to do the underwater task because of her fear of sharks and other fishy creatures, while Stacey's reserve meant that she was finally sent packing. Here's what the girls had to say about their time in the competition and the models left in the house.
Britain's Next Top Model: Where Are They Now?
Hi girls. So, first things first, how gutted were you to find you were out of the competition?
Tanya I wasn’t that gutted to be honest, I knew I was going to go so I’d mentally prepared for it and that was what I was expecting to hear. And I was thinking about how excited I was to be seeing my daughter and my partner again – being away from them was really hard.
Stacey I was pretty gutted – I couldn’t understand why I was out really. I’ve had good pictures and I actually felt more confident this week than I have for past weeks, so it was a shock to be leaving.
So Tanya, you thought you were going to be going because you hadn't taken part in the underwater challenge?
Tanya Yes – like I said, as I didn’t do the shoot and didn’t produce a photo from that week, I thought I would be going home. So as I was expecting it, it didn’t come as too much of a shock.
Did you think that the judges made the right call, seeing as you hadn't completed the task?
Tanya Well obviously I was gutted to be leaving and wish I could have stayed for longer, but I understood the decision. If it had been one of the other girls who hadn’t done the shoot I would have expected them to be leaving too, so I guess it was the fairest decision to make.
Could you understand at all why the girls were annoyed that you might have a chance to stay in the competition?
Tanya Completely, they all did the shoot and I didn’t and if it had been the other way around, I would have been annoyed if a girl who hadn’t done the shoot had stayed over me who had done it. But I wish I had had the chance to stay, and if the judges had given me a chance obviously I would have taken it – it was a competition after all. I would have liked to have stayed for longer to gain some more experience – I’ve never modeled before so it was all totally new to me.
Stacey, what was your take on the situation?
Stacey I love Tanya, I really don’t have anything bad to say about her! She had maybe had a couple of bad weeks, so this was her time to step it up and remind the judges of just how much potential she has. But as she didn’t do the shoot, I guess it was probably fairest that she went.
Were you relieved to be out of the competition at all?
Tanya Yes and no. Yes because I was homesick and really missed my family. But no because I really wanted to carry on in the competition and even go on to win it.
Stacey Watching it back now, yes – it made me realize how hard it was! But at the time, I wasn’t relieved at all, I wasn’t ready to go. I wish I could have stayed to get even more modeling experience and learn everything I could about the industry.
What attitude did you enter the house with? Did that help you at all?
Tanya I just tried to be myself. I was me throughout my time in the house – bubbly, a bit witty sometimes and if someone wanted an argument, then I would give them one.
Stacey I think the show was edited so that I was ‘the quiet girl’ – actually I’m not that way at all! I’m not that shy, I think it was just that I didn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. So I didn’t have the attitude of trying to keep the other girls down, I just tried to stay true to myself.
Was the experience how you imagined it would be?
Tanya Yes, in terms of the photoshoots. But I didn’t realize there would be so much filming, the cameras were there a lot! I enjoyed it so much though, I’m really glad I did the show.
Stacey The shoots were how I imagined them, but the whole experience was pretty stressful, which I didn’t expect it to be. But I’m so happy I did it, it was one of the best experiences of my life!
Stacey, you were very quiet - was that a game plan at all, or are you genuinely quite timid?
Stacey It’s funny, I’m not timid at all! If you ask the other girls, they wouldn’t say I was. In front of the judges I was quiet, but that’s because they’re quite intimidating! So it definitely wasn’t a game plan, but I don’t think I was particularly timid for most of my time there.
Tanya, you seemed to be on bad terms with a lot of the girls, did that bother you during the competition? Why do you think they singled you out?
Tanya It doesn’t bother me at all – I wasn’t there for the girls in the house, I was there to win the competition. I think they were jealous and saw me as a threat, so were maybe trying to intimidate me a bit and try to knock my confidence a bit.
Who did you get on best with and why?
Tanya Jess, Amy, Stacey, Jade and Kimmy – none of them were two-faced. They were just nice girls and were always genuine and being themselves.
Stacey Hannah – we clicked as soon as we met, I think because we’re both so laid back and didn’t get involved in the rows. And we all talk over facebook, but as I live quite far from London it’s hard to keep in touch all the time. But I do BBM with a few of the girls, it’s nice to keep in touch with them as much as I can.
Who would you like to see win? Who do you think is going to win?
Tanya Jade or Jess. They’ve both got such different looks – I’ve never seen anyone that looks like Jade, she’s gorgeous, and Jess because she’s a bit bigger, not the normal skinny model type, and she’s got some of the best photos, she’s showing a lot of girls that even if they don’t have the typical model figure, they could still make it in the industry.
Stacey Jess – as she was told she was a bigger girl and that could be difficult, but she’s had some of the best photos and is really showing that she wants it. But I think Juste will win – she’s had the most previous experience and she’s already done catwalks and shoots, so I think she’s at an advantage that could put her ahead.
What's your favourite memory?
Tanya Meeting Janice Dickinson and doing the catwalk challenge – because she’s amazing and I won the challenge! That was a fun one, even if it was about 59 feet in the air!
Stacey Mine was meeting Chipmunk – I was totally starstruck! He was so cool and he talked to all the girls as if it was really normal, he was really friendly.
What's your least favourite memory?
Tanya The underwater shoot – that’s probably fairly obvious though. I did really want to do it but when it came to the moment, I just couldn’t. I think even if I had the chance to do it again, knowing it could make the difference to me leaving the show, I still wouldn’t be able to. It was the sharks and the stingrays – they terrify me.
Stacey For me, Elle’s comment about me not eating was really tough. It was hard to hear because I’m healthy and my doctor doesn’t have any concerns – I wouldn’t have done the show if I wasn’t fit to do it.
What do you think you've learnt about yourself?
Tanya That I want to be a model even more now than I did before – it’s really opened my eyes to how much it means to me. I definitely want to continue modeling and would be 100% committed to it when or if the work came along.
Stacey Before I went into the house, I thought you had to be Miss Northern Ireland and conventionally pretty to be a model. But the show has shown me that you don’t, you can have an unusual and different look and be successful in the industry – so it made me realize that I could actually be a model.
Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model is on Mondays at 9pm on Sky Living.
Watch our interviews with other Britain's Next Top Model contestants:
Kimberleigh Spreadbury
Ufuoma Itoje
Hannah Devenne
Holly and Amy
