Meet the Sussex fresher who’s a finalist on this year’s Britain’s Next Top Model

Balancing life between catwalks and the sesh


Georgia, a 19 year old student from Surrey, has convinced this year's judges of the Lifetime TV show Britain's Next Top Model that she's got what it takes to be a catwalk star.

The fresher, who recently started her filmmaking degree at Sussex and loves the nightlife in Brighton, says that she didn't plan to apply for BNTM until she was watching the show with her mum, who then encouraged her to send off an application.

"Around August 2016, I looked at the show on TV and filled out the application form with my mum just for fun.

"In November I got an e-mail saying that I was accepted into the next stage"

She then had to film a small video introducing herself and talking about her motivations, and what better way to do that than walking around our gorgeous Sussex campus.

In January, Georgia got another e-mail from the producers inviting her to the auditions in London.

"I was standing in a really big room, in a bikini in front of the producers,

"It was terrifying at first, but eventually I made really good friends with them and felt a lot more comfortable."

Finally, around April, Georgia received the long-awaited call confirming that she was going to be in the show.

"I was lying next to my boyfriend when I got the call, and I was waking him up because I was absolutely freaking out about getting in."

It all went very quickly from there and as filming was supposed to start at the end of April. The film student, who at the time was doing a foundation year, had to finish of all of her coursework early in order to be able to take time off from uni and move in with her fellow contestants.

That's when things started to get real. Nothing sounds more stressful and dramatic than a house full of girls competing against each other, right?!

"Of course there was drama… I mean it is a television show after all. There is a lot of pressure on you so it does get kind of heated from time to time.

"It was quite intimidating because I was one of the youngest and a lot of the other girls already had a lot more experience than I did."

Nevertheless, the upcoming model says that she has made friends for life and that it was a once in a lifetime experience meeting so many amazing and diverse young women.

Throughout all the stress and the drama Georgia's friends and family have been her rock in turbulent waters. They've been supporting her since day one.

"My mum is more into it than I am", she says.

"My sister has particularly supportive, whenever something had happened and I needed someone to talk to she was there."

Her sister Charlotte has been Georgia's biggest fan

Her sister Charlotte has been Georgia's biggest fan

The highlight for the Sussex student however, was to be able to be part of last week's London Fashion Week Festival, where Georgia didn't only get to get a feel for the professional fashion industry, but was also given the honor to open the Giles Deacon show.

"I was absolutely honoured,

"Hair and make-up takes up to 4 hours, so the whole experience was very stressful but super fun and after the show we were all crying because we realized that it was the end of this amazing experience."

Georgia opening the Giles Deacon show during the LFWF

Georgia opening the Giles Deacon show during the LFWF

When asked about how her life has changed since she started filming, Georgia says that although not a lot has changed yet, it is sometimes weird to see that strangers know her because of the show.

"It is weird and exciting to see how busy it gets on social media, with fan pages and everything,

"On a night out my friends tried to get me some free bevs by telling the barkeeper that I am on BNTM,

"I'm dreading seeing myself on TV, but it'll be interesting because obviously you're not going to see everything, it's going to be a 12 hour day put into 1 hour and I don't know what scenes they're going to pick."

Cycle 12 starring Georgia, her fellow contestants as well as celebrity judges Abby Clancy, Nicky Johnston and Max Rogers will premiere on October 19th on Lifetime TV.