Australia's Next Top Model

Australia's Next Top Model
Format	Reality
Created by	Tyra Banks
Presented by	Former Erika Heynatz (1-2) Jodhi Meares (3-4) Sarah Murdoch (5-7) TBA (8-)
Judges	Alex Perry (1-) Charlotte Dawson (3-) Former Sarah Murdoch (5-7) Erika Heynatz (1-2) Marguerite Kramer (1) Ken Thompson (1) Michael Azzolini (1-2) Georges Antoni (2) Victoria Fisher (2) Jonathan Pease (3-5) Jodhi Meares (3-4) Jez Smith (3, 6)
Opening theme	"Gonna Be On Top" by Tiaan Williams
Country of origin	Australia
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	73 (as of 25 October 2011)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Granada Productions
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox8
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	11 January 2005 (2005-01-11) – present
External links
Website

Australia's Next Top Model is an Australian reality television series, based on a franchise that was created by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. It is produced by Granada Productions and broadcast on the Australian subscription television channel, FOX8. The series' objective is to find a promising but as-yet undiscovered Australian fashion Model and reward her with a platform to boost her chances of forging a successful career within the modelling industry.

The series was last formerly hosted by Australian model Sarah Murdoch, who also served as lead judge and co-executive producer of the show for cycles five to seven. Jodhi Meares and Erika Heynatz also served as former hosts. An eighth cycle is confirmed for production and broadcast during 2012. After Murdoch's departure, producers are in the process of finding a replacement host before production re-commences.

Premise

The series features a group of young female contestants generally aged between 16 and 22, who attend preliminary auditions across Australia with finalists selected to star in the series proper, where they end up living together in a house for several weeks whilst taking part in lectures, challenges, photo shoots and meetings with members of the modelling industry. Normally, one poor-performing contestant is eliminated each week until the last contestant remaining is declared "Australia's Next Top Model" and receives a modelling contract and other associated prizes, usually a feature spread in an Australian fashion magazine, a cash prize, a new car and meetings with modelling agencies with the intention of securing future work.

Show format

Each episode of Top Model covers the events of roughly a week of real time (however, while overseas, an episode may cover a shorter period), and features a fashion challenge, a photo shoot and/or commercial, a critique of each contestant and her performance by the judging panel, and the elimination of one or more contestants.

Judges

As of the end of Cycle 7, Sarah Murdoch was the last host of the series; the judging panel now consists of TV personality Charlotte Dawson, fashion photographer Jez Smith and fashion designer Alex Perry. Previous judges included model Erika Heynatz, former Harper's Bazaar managing editor Marguerite Kramer, fashion stylist Ken Thompson, fashion producer Victoria Fisher, fashion photographer Georges Antoni and model-turned-designer Jodhi Meares. Model mentor Josh Flinn, though not a permanent judge like his American counterpart Jay Manuel, appears in every episode. Usually, a guest judge will sit in on the panel every week.

Judges

• Alex Perry
• Marguerite Kramer (2005)
• Ken Thompson (2005)
• Georges Antoni (2006)
• Victoria Fisher (2006)
• Charlotte Dawson (2007–present)
• Jez Smith (2007, 2010)

Presenters

• Erika Heynatz (2005–2006)
• Jodhi Meares (2007–2008)
• Sarah Murdoch (2009–2011)

Bold print indicates that the judge/presenter is currently judging/presenting this current season.

Requirements

Starting from Cycle 3, contestants must be aged between 16 and 23 at the time of filming. In the first two seasons, contestants had to be at least 18 years old. However, the show lowered the age limit after realizing that most international models start their career earlier. In Cycle 5, the three finalists were aged 16 at the time of filming. In Cycle 7, the three finalists were aged 17 at the time of filming. Those auditioning have to be at least 173 cm or 5'8" tall. In the past, some contestants have weighed less than 60 kilograms, but there is no restriction on weight.

Differences between ANTM and AusNTM

Australia's Next Top Model shares the format of its American counterpart, but there are a few differences. On America's Next Top Model the final two models compete in a runway fashion show and the winner is chosen in the judging room. Starting from Cycle 3, the final two contestants compete in a runway show in front of a live studio audience in Sydney before the winner is revealed live-to-air. The judges, sponsors and fashion professionals vote for the winner, along with the TV viewing public, whose votes contribute 15 per cent to the overall tally.

Special Appearances

In season one, Blair McDonough, a housemate from first season of Big Brother and actor on Neighbours, made a guest appearance during an acting challenge. In season two, Beau Brady from Home and Away, posed in disguise as a photographer to test the girls' ability to handle the media. Ian Thorpe has appeared several times. In season six, Michael Klim, made a guest appearance for the girls' introduction in swimsuit.

Controversy

Following a breach of contract with Heynatz's appearance on the Channel Seven series It Takes Two, she was replaced as host by Jodhi Meares, although Meares had been consistently scrutinised for her huge lack of involvement in the show. During the Cycle 3 live finale, she made a number of embarrassing blunders that drew commentary from critics on her ability to host. Things were worsened when she pulled out of her hosting duties hours before the Cycle 4 live finale. The swarm of negative comments from the press and fans of the show led to Meares' withdrawal from the programme.

In Cycle 4, Demelza Reveley, leader of the self-named group "Bitchketeers", won the competition, sparking large negative feedback about her winning. In one episode, Reveley brought Alamela Rowan, 17, to tears by water-bombing her and tipping water on her head. Rowan, who was left traumatised by the taunts and attacks during her time on the show, was noticeably unimpressed by the apology Reveley gave. The "Bitchketeers" had also had also caused problems for fellow contestants Alexandra Girdwood, Belinda Hodge & Caris Eves. Vogue Australia editor-in-chief, Kirstie Clements, and former model and fellow judge Charlotte Dawson preferred Alexandra Girdwood, because of Reveley's behaviour. The judges' scores were tied, so the decision came down to the public, who voted for Reveley.

After Cycle 5, runner-up Cassi Van Den Dungen made a series of highly controversial comments. She was offered modeling contracts by Priscilla's Model Management in Australia and Elite Model Management in New York City (the contract with Elite was worth a reported $2 million). Cassi turned down both offers and quit modeling in order to remain in Sunbury with her bricklayer boyfriend, Brad Saul, causing a backlash from the public, as well as from judges Alex Perry and Charlotte Dawson, who had vouched for Cassi on the show and urged her to pursue modeling. Cassi later stated in the press that she rejected the Elite contract because she didn't want to be pressured to drop from a size six to a four. Later, to the surprise of many, it was announced that Cassi would be signing a contract with IMG Paris and would be walking for designers at Paris Fashion Week in March 2010. Cassi made the trip to Paris with Saul but withdrew after insulting the French agents and referring to them as "snail slurpers" and "frog eaters" on her Facebook page. Saul added his comments which included a racial slur, for which the couple received more fire.

In the Cycle 6: Live Final, the TV viewers voted to decide the winner. Initially, Sarah Murdoch announced Kelsey Martinovich as the winner of Australia's Next Top Model. Moments after Martinovich had made her victory speech, Murdoch stopped the celebrations and announced that Amanda Ware was the winner of Cycle 6. An embarrassed Murdoch apologised repeatedly to Martinovich and the audience, stating that the final result was read to her wrong. As compensation for the error, Foxtel awarded Martinovich a A$25,000 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to New York. Harper's Bazaar decided to release both Amanda and Kelsey's covers for the November issue.

In the days following the bungled announcement, top industry commentators expressed skepticism about whether the episode was a publicity stunt, with the editor of Harper's Bazaar Edwina McCann accusing Foxtel of manipulating the ANTM result. "The network did want Amanda to win...They kept the voting lines open for a long time I think in the hope that she would get over the line. I'm told that it came down to three votes," she told the Nine Network.

Reception

This show has found its audience in Australia and is the highest rating non-sporting related program or event on subscription television in Australia.

Cycles

Cycle	Premiere date	Winner	Runner-up	Other contestants in order of elimination	Number of contestants	Destination(s)
1	11 January 2005 (2005-01-11)	Gemma Sanderson	Chloe Wilson	Naomi Thompson, Nicole Fraser, Atong Tulba Mulual, Allana Ridge (quit), Zoe McDonald, Simmone Duckmanton, Samantha Morley, Shannon McGuire	10	Melbourne
2	4 January 2006 (2006-01-04)	Eboni Stocks	Jessica French	Sasha Greenoff, Natalie Guiffre, Rebecca Pian, Sophie Miller, Sarah Lawrence, Hiranthi Warusevitane, Caroline Mouflard (quit), Lara Cameron, Louise Van Brussel, Madeleine Rose, Simone Viljoen	131	None
3	27 March 2007 (2007-03-27)	Alice Burdeu	Stephanie Hart	Jaimi Smith (quit), Cobi Marsh, Cassandra Hughes, Kara-Lee Taylor, Steph Flockhart, Jane Williamson, Sophie Wittingslow, Danica Brown, Paloma Rodriguez, Anika Salerno, Jordan Loukas	132	Los Angeles
4	22 April 2008 (2008-04-22)	Demelza Reveley	Alexandra Girdwood	Kamila Markowska, Kristy Coulcher, Emma O’Sullivan, Belinda Hodge, Alamela Rowan, Leiden Kronemberger, Jamie Lee, Rebecca Jobson, Alyce Crawford, Caris Eves, Samantha Downie	13	Fiji New York City
5	28 April 2009 (2009-04-28)	Tahnee Atkinson	Cassi Van Den Dungen	Laura Tyrie, Leah Johnson, Georgie Kidman, Mikarla Hussey, Eloise Hoile, Madison Wall, Laura Mitchell, Lola Van Vorst, Franky Okpara, Adele Thiel, Clare Venema	13	London
6	20 July 2010 (2010-07-20)	Amanda Ware	Kelsey Martinovich	Valeria Nilova, Sally Geach, Claire Smith, Ashlea Monigatti, Alison Boxer, Megan Jacob, Ashton Flutey, Chantal Croccolo, Kimberly Thrupp, Brittney Dudley, Joanna Broomfield, Kathryn Lyons, Jessica Moloney, Sophie Van Den Akker	16	Tokyo
7	8 August 2011 (2011-08-08)	Montana Cox	Liz Braithwaite	Cassy Phillips-Sainsbury, Tayah Lee-Traub, Annaliese McCann, Alissandra Moone, Neo Yukuac, Caroline Austin, Yolanda Hodgson, Jess Bush, Amelia Coutts, Madeline Huett, Izzy Vesey, Hazel O'Connell, Rachel Riddell, Simone Holtznagel	163	Paris Dubai
8	Mid-2012	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

Notes

• ^Note 1 : Cycle 2 started with 12 contestants present in the first episode. A thirteenth contestant was entered after one original contestant was excluded before the first official elimination outside of judging panel.
• ^Note 2 : Cycle 3 originally had 12 contestants. Another contestant was added into a cast (after the actual elimination) when a contestant had left the show and quit before the actual elimination of the first episode.
• ^Note 3 : Even though all twenty girls were flown to Paris, Sarah stated that only 16 contestants would begin the competition and become finalists.

See also

• List of Australian television series
• Top Model series

External links

• Official Australia's Next Top Model website
• Announcement of series airing in the US (From The Futon Critic 02-20-07)
• All AusNTM: Gallery with Pictures of the Contestants
• Geoform - architects for the 'model house' currently in Cycle 4 of Australia's Next Top Model
• Australia's Next Top Model at the Internet Movie Database
• Australia's Next Top Model at TV.com
• Alamela Rowan's Next Top Model blog