Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 5 - Week 8

It's off to London they go! Sarah comes to say goodbye to the girls as they were packing, with a warning that they would always be on show. If that isn't enough to say sneaky photographers then I don't know what else is. The girls stopped-over in Abu Dhabi and enjoyed some pampering before continuing their flight to London. Obviously, Sarah advice wasn't enough for the girls as they were caught not looking their best, though none of them looked bad either.

The girls were met by Gerry DeVeaux, one of the judges on Britain's Next Top Model who took the girls out shopping to show them some examples of London style, and who guided them through their photo shoot. The models were housed at the pentuhouse suite of Sanderson Hotel. The next day, they were ecstatic to visit Topshop, declaring that they had never seen such a large shop before. I am in total agreement and think Australia needs a Topshop and H&M. At the very least.

After visiting a few more shops, they are done and it is then revealed to the girls that they had had a challenge without even realising it; they had been being secretly photographed upon arriving at Heathrow Airport. The girl who looked the best was Adele, who chose Cassi to go with her to the London premiere of Fast and Furious. Tahnee and Clare remained at the hotel and pretended to be Adele and Cassi.

Next up for the go-sees. They were to make their way to two of the top agencies in London - Storm and Premier. At Storm, the girls were interviewed by Managing Director Sarah Doukas. Clare and Cassi both received a lot of praise, with Clare being declared the perfect balance, able to do editorial, high fashion, commercial and catwalk, while Cassi's photos showed her skill in front of the camera. While Sarah Doukas also thought highly of Tahnee and Adele, she thought that the former might be a bit more commercial and the latter still had room to grow, though she had the potential to grow into a very good model.

At Premier, the girls were met by Director of Scouting, Anthony Gordon and Premier founder Carole White. The girls were asked to walk and none of them escaped scott-free. Adele was told that she had very good posture and was given a few pointers of how to hold herself while walking, but was also deemed a little too tall. Again, Clare was described as perfect, but was unable to correct a slight bounce in her walk. Cassi's walk is much improved but just wasn't up to the tandard it needed to be. Once again, she gave excuses for her poor walk, which didn't impress too much. Tahnee walked well, but for the second time, was seen as perhaps being a little limited in her client base, due to her more commercial look and curiver figure. At the end of the go-see, Carole dd mention that if she had to choose, she'd go with Clare and Cassi.

Next up was the photo shoot. The brief - the cool and sexy London look (its almost a Rimmel ad). The photographer - Robert Astley Sparke. The locations - iconic London landmarks. Tahnee was first up and shot with Big Ben in the background. She was versatile, took direction easily and delighted Sparke enough to be booked again in the future. Adele wore a shimmery dress that cost AU$100,000 though I certainly didn't think it looked like it should have been anywhere near that pricey. Her shoot took place in one of the unmistakeable red phone booths. You could see that she tried giving more range in her expressions but in the end, the photographer didn't think she took direction very well. Cassi had her photos taken while hanging out of the double decker bus and clearly wowed Gerry. Clare was dressed very androgenously and her location was on the steps of a London terrace house.

Back in Australia, the girls headed for judging and elimination. Guest judging were Jonathan Pease and past Top Model winner Alice Burdeau. Clare was up first and while she and Sarah liked her photo, Alex and Charlotte hated it, calling it cheese. However, her face was still very strong so it wasn't horrendous cheese. Overall, the judges deemed that Adele was still giving that same look in her photos, though they also acknowledged that Alice had done the same thing and that the one look was a fantastic one. Plus she had mande a $100,000 dress look much cheaper than it was - I don't agree, I think it was the dress itsel but hey, that's just me. Cassi's photo was decidedly uninspiring and looked just like a girl hanging off the back of a bus; there simply wasn't any modeling there. Tahnee's photo, while the best of the lot, wasn't her best photo either.

While the judges didn't like Clare's photo on the whole, they collectively agreed that she had the best range and was the most mature and professional, and had been from day 1. She was a keeper. The issue of Tahnee's limited client base was brought up but her good photos were undeniable. She was through too. With Adele and Cassi in the bottom two, anyone who had been following the show should have known already who would go, as Alex Perry clearly said he didn't agree with the decision made, and he had been barracking for Adele all along. And so, we say goodby to Adele.