he Daily Mail
London, UK
27 November, 2006


Poured into a gold swimsuit, Make Me A Supermodel winner Jen Hunter looks as if this outfit was custom-made for her.

But the one-piece triggered a furious row about stick-thin models when her rival finalist Marianne Berglund appeared painfully underweight in the same attire.


Curvy Jen Hunter and skinny Marianne Berglund

Appearing here for the first time in the outfit which sparked the debate about size zero models, Miss Hunter - who was criticised on the show for being too fat - said: "This is what a real woman should look like.

"I am all curves and flesh, not skin and bone. Boys, who would you rather snuggle up to?"

Looking as different as chalk and cheese, the swimwear clings to Miss Hunter's voluptuous curves and reveals acres of cleavage while on clinically underweight Miss Berglund, it shows her protruding hips and ribs and appears to hang off her.

Barmaid Miss Hunter, 24 - who weighs 11 stone and is a healthy size 12 (US10) - was reduced to tears when she was castigated on the reality TV show for not taking a food and exercise regime seriously.

Judge Tandy Anderson, managing director of Select Model Management, criticised her for having "stocky" legs while supermodel Rachel Hunter, a fellow panellist, reprimanded her for saying she wanted to prove larger women could be successful models.

Swedish blonde Miss Berglund, 18, who made it to the final with her, was meanwhile praised for having a "sensational" body for modelling despite having a body mass index of 16.1.

It fell well below the minimum BMI of 18 for models taking part in Madrid Fashion Week in September, set after catwalk model Luisel Ramos dropped dead from self-starvation.

But mother-of-one Miss Hunter triumphed when viewers voted her to the top female slot in the contest - and claimed she owed her success to her favourite dish of hotpot and chips.

In a refreshing admission which will have millions of women breathing a sigh of relief - and letting out their stomachs - she said: "It's fantastic to know the public prefer a woman with a few wobbly bits over a stick insect.

"I am a northern lass - I like my hotpot and my shepherd's pie and I have a very sweet tooth.

"My wardrobe is stuffed with clothes that don't fit but I scrub up pretty well. I like to think men see me as a yummy mummy."

Her confession comes after a chorus of calls for the fashion industry to stop using stick-thin and underweight models. Designer Giorgio Armani recently took a stand by banning size zero models from his shows.

Wigan-born Miss Hunter, who beat five female hopefuls to the top slot after refusing to bow to pressure, claimed her win proved women could not relate to skinny models.

The divorcee triumphed over eight-stone Miss Berglund - who was dubbed "the walking skeleton" - but was beaten to the overall prize of a modelling contract by a male competitor.

In a blog diary she kept throughout the show, in which she cheekily gave herself the nickname "fat bird," she announced: "I am doing this for every hardworking single mum and every woman who isn't a size eight (US6) or below.

"You don't have to be a size eight to be beautiful. I am trying to change an industry that is so set in its ways and its definition of what is beautiful. It is so hard and harsh at times.

"You analyse every step you make, every mouth full of food you take. As long as I am being me, I am not going to regret anything I do."


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...in_page_id=1773