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The stunning size 12 model branded 'too fat' for TV competition
Last updated at 23:52pm on 27.11.06
Curvy Jen Hunter and skinny Marianne Berglund
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.
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 - 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 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."
Reader views (7)
Good on you Jen. It is not right to be like Marianne. I am so pleased- as a recovering anorexic to have inspiration from Jen.
- Imogen Smith, Wedmore, Somerset
If you think Jen Hunter is "too fat", you should get off whatever fantasy world you are living in. Of course, she looks gigantic compared to that stick over there that looks like a witch. I don't care about the modeling world, but common sense is enough to know Jen Hunter is not even voluptuous, in the real sense. Makes me wonder if these people have actually seen a voluptuous woman. Nevertheless, she is hot. And being stick figures is really getting kind of ridiculous, and its also immoral. They turn women into things to display clothes in. Wasn't their a feminist revolution in the past 30 years or so? Seems the modeling doesnt really care fo stuff like that. Interesting...
- Joe, Puerto Rico
I think they're both too fat, to be honest. Marianne's at least half a stone above her ideal weight, maybe more - and the first one should be ashamed of going outside with thighs like that.
- Jamie, London
Can we just refer to these people as "models"? There's nothing super about any of them, they just get their picture taken for a living. Do we talk about "superdoctors", "superfiremen" or "superteachers". No. Recently Kate Moss was nominated as a contender for an icon of our time - God help us all if that talentless woman comes to symbolise 21st century society. Though maybe that would say it all about people's obsessive preoccupations with non-achievers these days. For the record, Jen looks absolutely gorgeous, the other one looks like a Photoshop experiment gone wrong...
- Keith, Farringdon
I honestly think that Jen looks better overall, but I prefer Marianne's legs. I think that Jen is about as big as you can get if you want to model. Marianne is painfully thin and could do with more weight on her abdomen and chest.
- Mary, Hereford
I realise I'm possibly going off at a tangent here but who is Rachel Hunter to criticise or judge anyone? Supermodel? She married a rock star and was propelled into the public eye because of that. Supermodels are also supposed to strut the catwalk not just rely on good airbrushing in a variety of poor commercials and then marry someone famous. She certainly isn't attractive, is big boned and actually quite nasty!
- Carolyn, UK
I watching this series and was horrified at the attitude of all the panel, it was painful to watch Jennifer get mauled for her size, it wasnt even constructive critisism. I'm glad she got to the final 4, she deserved to be there, I wouldn't mind but apart form Rachel Hunter the panel were all mingers themselves!
- Helen F, Kent
