The morning after proved to be a surreal experience for Maltese girl Tiffany Pisani as the reality of her being crowned Britain’s Next Top Model sank in.
“I am so overwhelmed,” she told timesofmalta.com . “I really, honestly didn’t think I would win. I’m really, shocked. It still hasn’t sunk in.”
She said that she was left utterly speechless when she was announced the winner and for a minute she thought it was just a rehearsal.
“We had been rehearsing every possible outcome and for a second, I just thought, this can’t be the real thing.”
Right after the show was whisked away for interviews and a photo shoot with Supermodel and BNTM host Elle Macpherson.
“I’m really happy. This is my dream come true, she said.”
The event, meanwhile, made it to most sections of the British media, with some questions being asked over whether Tiffany, who was repeatedly described in the show as "the Maltese girl" should have been crowned Britain's top model.
Some reports implied that the programme producers may have wanted somebody else.
Tiffany was however praised for her looks and character, though not her voice.
“After the winner was announced, Dave asked (producer) Elle if the public had chosen well, to which she replied: 'The public have chosen... And I have loved every second. Congratulations to you both - you're both winners to me.” The Mail observed.
The suggestion that the public might not have chosen 'well', however, might have been a a telling sign that the decision had not gone as the 47-year-old supermodel had hoped, the paper added.
Indeed, she said that the public vote was a challenge for her - 'everybody knows I'm a control freak,'
The live finale was a first for Britain's Next Top Model, and many readers slammed it as poor, boring and too long.
"BRITAINS next top model...a Maltese girl. What does that say?" A Steph asked on the Daily Mail.
“Love that they are saying now she is from Wolverhampton - that was NEVER mentioned in the show, they always said she is from Malta. Last night she said her Mum was from the UK - not her," Simone wrote from London.
“She clearly wasn't the judges first choice.”
Mischa, from West Yorkshire wrote:
“Praise the Lord for the public vote! Tiffany was easily the best of the final 3 that the idiotic judges deemed the best three in the bunch ( they weren't....), and Tiff should thank her lucky stars for the public vote. She would NEVER have won if it had been left to the judges - they have favoured the awful ( in so many ways) Joy from day one, and had started to equally favour the massively limited Alisha .Tiffany was not bigheaded (like Alisha) or negative ( like Joy), she is good at both photoshoots and catwalk. I don't care that she s Maltese - i think her parents are British anyway so it makes no difference. The result was the only good thing about this series which has been poor in both presenter and judges , let alone quality of contestants.But at least a good one won!”
And Olivia, from Malta, added:
“Doesn't anyone see what's wrong here! She isn't British (so what if her Mother is British, she's lived here for years and years!!), she wasn't educated in the UK or lived in the UK! So why was she allowed to participate!! it's not Europe's next top model or Malta's next top model!
“This is just stupid!!
“I'm not taking it away from her, she won fair and square (so to speak), she was the best out of all of them and to be honest, I do like her, she's down to earth, intelligent and nice looking (not outstanding by any stretch of the imagination) but is versatile.
But, why was she allowed to take part?!!! So basically any nationality can apply to take part and you don't have to reside in the UK for any length of period. that's just strange.”
I liked Tiffany, but I can't see how it can be claimed that she is "Britain's" next TopModel, when she is from Malta. That's like having a Miss England from France, it just doesn't make sense - Gillian, of Leatherhead, wrote.
Of course, Maltese readers sprang to Tiffany’s defence.
Among them was Maroushka who said: “We are so proud of Tiffany and she had every right to take part in the contest as her mum is British. I'm really happy that her dream came true and I wish her all the best with her career” Maroushka wrote.
Debby, from St Helens, pointed out that Tiff lives in Malta but she was born in Wolverhampton which was in Britain and her mum was British.
"So to you what makes someone British?"
And Brian added: "Let me remind you that you British people voted for her to win not us Maltese.
"Greetings from sunny Malta."
See Tiffany's comments after the show on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bly21TS4PBI&feature=player_embedded#!