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The final showdown saw Jade and Juste negotiate a complicated catwalk in a dramatic walk-off, wearing knitted creations by Mark Fast as they led wayward dogs down the runway under the eye of judges Elle Macpherson, Julien Macdonald, Grace Woodward and Charley Speed, and guest panellists Daisy Lowe and America's Next Top Model's Miss J Alexander.
20-year-old Jade Thompson was crowned winner on the final episode of Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model tonight, taking the top prize ahead of rival, Lithuanian Juste Juozapaityte.
‘I’m over the moon,’ the one-time insurance advisor told us after the show. ‘I never thought I would win. I was the skinny ginger nut at school - and now look at me.'
The victory, says Jade, is one in the eye for the children who taunted her at her primary school in Stoke-On-Trent about her unique appearance. ‘I looked unusual, I was skinny. Everybody teased me. My hair was much redder then than it is now – it was bright orange,’ she says.
‘They called me freckle-face and ginger nut. People used to stop and stare at me in the street, or point at me.
‘Now they’ll stop and stare, but for a different reason – because they recognise me as the winner of Next Top Model.'
Despite their canine companions' best efforts both girls put in impressive performances, but it was Jade who ultimately won the judges' hearts – and votes – thanks to her ‘unique’ look.
‘It was terrifying,’ said Jade after the show. ‘My heart was beating so fast, the adrenalin was pumping. ‘I knew it would be a challenge with the stairs and the dogs. It was really hard - especially when my dog sat down at the end of the catwalk.
'I was trying to get it to move while trying not to show the panic in my face.’
‘I thought I was putting in a focused performance, but when I watched the tape back, you could see I looked really nervous. I was stomping down the stairs just trying not to fall over.
‘Juste was so calm and confident, it just made things worse - she's done this before, so she wasn't scared at all.‘
Still, any nerves Jade suffered didn’t faze the judges and, after much deliberation, they handed her the top prize.
'It was so unexpected,’ Jade admits. 'I’d had some great comments from the judges, but some really bad ones too. There were times throughout the series where I was certain it was over for me.
'I just didn’t know which way it would go.
'You can see the shock on my face when they announce my name. I thought that because Juste had modelling experience she would be the judge’s choice. Now I think perhaps that worked against her.’
For her part, Juste too hints that the judges chose Jade because she was the less experienced of the two – and because she ticked the right boxes.
‘I think they could not have a non-British girl win the competition,’ says Juste.
‘After the show, Elle came up to me and said she was my biggest supporter on the panel,' she adds.
'She told me she knew I would do well on my own, she knew I would get signed anyway.
'Julien said I was the only girl he would choose to walk in one of his catwalk shows.
‘But it’s not fair to treat me like that – if they thought I was the best, then why didn’t they give me the prize?’
Does Juste honestly think she was overlooked for top spot because of her Lithuanian roots?
‘Of course,’ she says matter-of-factly. ‘Last year a Maltese girl won the show. This year, there would have been an outcry if a non-British or Irish model took the prize for a second year running.’
‘I don’t think a girl like me from Lithuania could have won.’
‘It’s always sad to lose, but I’m happy I came second. I wanted to get into the competition and always said I’d be happy with top five, so it’s great.
‘Jade has a different look – everybody liked her because she was so unique.
‘She’s more commercial – she’s represents the real women – she’s curvier than me.
Indeed, despite being 5ft 10in and a slender size 6 to 8, Jade was continually labelled as the ‘real’ model, the curvy one, while Juste - 6ft and size 8 - was painted as the androgynous one.
Elle was Juste's biggest supporter, telling her she would get signed even though she didn't win
‘I was upset when Julien said I looked like a boy in a dress. He said I was boyish and wide-shouldered.
'But you know, they cut my hair off, they made me look like a boy,' says Juste, referring to the make-over episode where her blonde hair was shorn into a dark crop. 'They gave me that look, then they criticised me for it.'
The judges can be tough, agrees Jade, admitting that she too was hurt by some things that the judges said.
‘The harshest comment for me came from Grace,’ Jade says. 'She said I was like Marmite – you either love me or hate me. I was really upset by that.
‘She suggested I might be a yo-yo model – either working a lot, or not working at all, depending on the mood of the moment. ‘I really felt that was a put down, but I came back stronger. I was determined to improve.’
‘Actually, the nicest comment came from Grace too. She said the industry was crying out for someone like me who is different, someone who has a different kind of look: freckles, curves. That gave me the confidence to improve.
‘The way I see it, there are other models at the moment who have curves, like Lara Stone and Tyra Banks.
'Being curvy doesn’t mean you can’t be successful.
In fact, says Jade, her curves might just work in her favour.
'Ultimately, I'd love to model for Victoria's Secret,' she says.
'So my curves could end up being a great thing.'
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