My Story... in full'ish
Background
Born and raised in Hackney, London I’m a true city girl at heart. Gimme hustle and bustle, independence and tube hopping any day over the “peace” of the countryside.
After 5 minutes of meeting me it’s clear I’m a natural communicator (some would say chatterbox). People tend to feel my energy and when they find out I’m an only child, they always exclaim “that makes so much sense”. I still haven’t quite worked out if it’s a compliment or not, but it might be because its super clear I like to express myself… whether through sharing my opinion, my emotions being written all over my face or having fun with fashion by wearing bold, vibrant, quirky clothing.
Growing up I was a gymnast for 10 years; a very show off sport which suited my show off self.
My super supportive parents encouraged me to do whatever I had the slightest interest in and there was definitely a theme…. dance, drama, violin, piano, trampoline. All somewhat performance based, but the real aha moment wasn’t until I started teaching dance and trampoline. You’re at the front of the room, giving instructions, everyone’s eyes on you and you get to show off. This love coupled with my love of TV and I thought…. I could be a TV presenter!
While doing the various extracurricular activities that involved performing; I also broke my way into the modelling industry…….
At 12 years old I marched myself to my local Safeways Supermarket and posed up a storm in a passport photo booth. I snail mailed the photos off to a child modelling agency I found in the Yellow Pages and I actually got a response! Being the only child that I am I demanded my parents took me for a casting and that was that! I shoved my way into an industry that I had never really seen myself reflected or represented in, but my 12 year old self didn’t see that as an obstacle.
One of my first jobs was modelling in a mini runway show on This Morning. I was asked if I liked something I was wearing and proceeded to tell them why I wasn’t quite feeling it and how it could be improved! Of course I learned a lot from this and went on to work for various kids clothing brands, teen magazines and more.
However, at about 16 the transition from child modelling to adult commercial/fashion wasn’t easy. I was rejected left, right and centre for many different reasons, some of which I’ll never know. However, the most common were to do with my height (or lack thereof) and them already having a girl with my complexion on their books.
I knew I needed another route in and Britain’s Next Top Model (BNTM), the reality TV show, was it. I was selected for the show (which is a whole story in itself) and eventually placed 7th. This gave me the confidence to pursue the industry with my full chest. But I wasn’t done with reality TV yet… just over a year after the show finished I was contacted by the producers of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). They were doing a season special, called the British Invasion, which involved girls who’d been on BNTM competing against American models in a LA mansion. Of course I said yes and was flown out to meet the queen of the Next Top Model franchise, Tyra Banks. I battled off some fierce competition and made it to the final 3 with huge praise from the ANTM judges. As the series aired around the world (88+ countries) I found myself with a super supportive fanbase, who continue to cheer me on almost 10 years later.
I have of course continued to model since the shows ended and I would even say I’ve had more opportunities as I’ve got older, something I never thought would be possible in a modelling career .
I now mainly do commercial jobs, such as TV adverts and print campaigns for various beauty and fashion brands.
Presenting
Teaching dance was the spark to start my presenting career. I studied Media: TV Broadcasting at the University of Westminster and started dipping my toes into the presenting world by hosting small scale dance events. After appearing on BNTM and graduating with a 2:1 I plunged myself into the industry, volunteering at community radio stations, hosting larger events in venues such as Olympia and Excel and I really developed my craft of being a live event host.
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Growing up as a model, I’ve always loved fashion so it only made sense that I used my appearance on BNTM and subsequently ANTM as a platform to talk about my love of styling. Going on to host fashion, lifestyle and beauty events, like Clothes Show Live for 5 years running.
In 2016 I officially started my commercial radio career, with a big job… hosting my own show every Friday and Saturday night on the largest commercial station in the UK, Heart Radio. It was my job to have a party with the nation every weekend, play the tunes, give them some banter, do a couple of interviews. Boom!
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I left Heart in 2019 and went on to present various online projects and digital events, a fashion documentary and even style segments on the Steve Harvey show in LA.
Currently you can find me on QVC UK as a fashion and style expert.
Voice over
I was snapped up by a voice over agent within my first year at Heart. This was something I had tried to get into before but working on radio gave me helped me to break through. I’m super thankful because I find doing voice overs so enjoyable! I’ve worked with some awesome brands over the years; highlights include being the voice of Boohoo and reciting a super sassy female empowerment poem for their main campaign. I also went full circle and ended up
narrating 2 series of Britain’s Next Top Model. I’ve voiced all sorts of things, radio promos, tv adverts, apps… the strangest being a podcast for dogs!
Content Creator
With the year that 2020 was… I didn’t really have a choice but to burry myself in the world of content creating! Yes, I’ve always been pretty active on social media mainly focusing on Instagram, sharing fashion inspiration and developing my Outfit Check IGTVs, where I swan about providing fashion tips and giggles. But I took it to a whole new level by building my community on Youtube to nearly 10 thousand subscribers by talking about my freelance career, of course fashion and my time on ANTM. I also jumped on the TikTok bandwagon and you can find me there doing more of what I do!