Australia's Next Top Model is an Australian reality television show that is broadcast of the Australian subscription television channel FOX8, carried by Foxtel, Optus Television and Austar. The show is now in its second season.
Hosted by model/presenter Erika Heynatz, Australia's Next Top Model is based on the top-rating series America's Next Top Model created and co-produced by supermodel Tyra Banks. The Australian version has been produced by Granada Productions, who have been behind other hit shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Merrick And Rosso Unplanned.
Over nine weeks on air, the first series of Australia's Next Top Model charted the transformation of 10 hopefuls chosen from a nationwide search in August 2004. The brief was to find raw talent to be transformed from good looking girls-next-door into potential top models and follow them as they navigated their through weekly modelling assignment and tasks.
The 10 finalists spent two months living together in a penthouse in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Darling Point while filming the series in late 2004. Aside from the stress of learning the ropes of the business, the finalists had to deal with the ups and downs of "model house" life: tears and tantrums, accusations of fake breasts and allegations of theft.
In each episode, the programme's panel of judges, leading fashion designer and former model booker Alex Perry and a number of other people noted in the fashion world, assessed task performance and potential. After each critique, one girl was eliminated and sent home.
In Series 1 of the show, the special guest star Blair McDonough, from Neighbours, to teach the girls how to act for commercials while in Series 2, the guest star was Beau Brady, from Home and Away, who posed as a photographer who had to criticise the girls to see their reaction to the media which aired on Fox8 on 18 January 2006.
Cycle 1
Contestants
- Naomi Thompson - Townsville, Queensland, 22, Eliminated Week 1
- Nicole Fraser - Albury, New South Wales, 19, Eliminated Week 2
- Atong Tulba Mulual - Sydney, New South Wales, 19, Eliminated Week 3
- Allana Ridge - Sydney, New South Wales, 20, Quit Week 4
- Zoe McDonald - Gold Coast, Queensland, 20, Eliminated Week 5
- Simmone Duckmanton - Melbourne, Victoria, 19, Eliminated Week 6
- Samantha Morley - Gold Coast, Queensland, 20, Eliminated Week 7
- Shannon Mac - Perth, Western Australia, 20, Eliminated Week 8
- Chloe Wilson - Adelaide, South Australia, 19, Runnerup
- Gemma Sanderson - Newcastle, New South Wales, 22, Winner
Gemma's prize for winning the first series of Australia's Next Top Model was a contract with Chic Model Management, an all expenses paid trip to Milan to meet with Fashion (one of Italy's top model agencies), an eight page editorial in Cleo magazine and she fronted a national campaign for Napoleon cosmetics for a year.
Cycle 2
Contestants
- Sasha Greenoff - Darwin, Northern Territory, 22, Eliminated Week 1
- Natalie Guiffre - Perth, Western Australia, 19, Eliminated Week 1
- Rebecca Pian - Melbourne, Victoria, 18, Eliminated Week 1
- Sophie Miller - Brisbane, Queensland, 18, Eliminated Week 2
- Sarah Lawrence - Perth, Western Australia, 19, Eliminated Week 3
- Hiranthi Warusevitane - Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 21, Eliminated Week 4
- Caroline Mouflard - Byron Bay, New South Wales, 18, Quit Week 5
- Lara Cameron - Perth, Western Australia, 18, Eliminated Week 5
- Louise Van Brussel - Adelaide, South Australia, 20, Eliminated Week 6
- Madeleine Rose - Sydney, New South Wales, 18, Eliminated Week 7
- Simone Viljoen - Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 19, Eliminated Week 8
- Jessica French - Brisbane, Queensland, 20, Runnerup
- Eboni Stocks - Hobart, Tasmania, 19, Winner
A surprising twist to this show was that after Sasha Greenoff was eliminated, Madeleine Rose took her place in the competition.
Cycle 3
Series 3 has recently been confirmed by Granada Productions and the ANTM team.
At this stage plans are still being finalised, however details will be released shortly of the audition tour.