On this week’s episode of Britain’s Next Top Model, viewers unfortunately had to say goodbye to the incredibly talented Tamsin, but she’s not a woman who’ll let it keep her down. Proud of all she achieved throughout the series and now looking to the future, we caught up with her to find out all about her experience, her exit and where she goes from here.
The judges on Britain's Next Top Model
What modelling experience did you have before BNTM?
None whatsoever. I'd never been in front of a professional camera, ever. Some of the girls said they didn't have modelling experience, and they'd only done jobs for free, but I haven't even done that. I've never even done a casting, nothing. I was by far the least experienced!
Was that intimidating?
I don't think so because for me, it made everything that little bit more exciting. The other girls were very used to doing shoots but for me, it made 'boring days of waiting around' into a really fun time. For me, even just having my hair and make-up done was exciting. And it made me more mouldable as to what they wanted. I had no preconceptions whatsoever. So for me, it was good.
What made you apply?
When I was about seven, me and my mum used to watch the show. That was one of the things we bonded over. And in the ad breaks I'd walk up and down the lounge doing all these poses and I'd say I was going to audition one day.
As I was growing up, people would notice how tall I was, and then they said I should apply. So I did - off the cuff, not expecting anything to come from it.
How was the experience?
I really enjoyed it. I went in knowing nothing, and I came out with quite a lot of knowledge of the industry. You might say, 'I want to be an astronaut', with no real idea about what that would be like. So to have this taster really validated that yes, this would be something I'd be interested in doing. And now I know I definitely want to pursue it.
Tell me a bit about your exit.
When I left, I was obviously upset, but I was proud of myself as well. I'd been so nervous beforehand and my main aim was to stay longer than five days, which I did. I said to my mum before I went in, before my phone got taken away, I said, 'I'll be ringing you in five days!'. I'd never been away from my family, or even travelled outside of Cornwall on my own. So it was a big achievement. I was obviously gutted but at the same time it was a bit of a relief. Especially staying for two weeks.
Do you think you deserved to go?
I really enjoyed the Ghost shoot and I was the client's favourite. But first of all, my photos were all very similar. The judges said they weren't seeing growth, which is fair enough. I was doing other stuff, but maybe they weren't looking very good. The best pictures were all the same.
And also the other thing I think that contributed to my exit was the makeovers when I had a bit of a wobbly. Up until that point, I hadn't cried, and I hadn't lost my temper. All of the other girls had at some point had a bit of a meltdown over something little but I hadn't, at all. So when it came to the makeovers, it was a moment of all of the emotion that I had been surprising all coming out at once.
When I was younger, I had really short hair, and that's when I got OCD. That was quite a traumatic time for me so it felt reminiscent of that. And I had these pent-up emotions too. So it all just came out at once.
After I got so upset, I can completely understand what the judges thought. They didn't end up cutting all my hair because of my reaction and I was actually quite gutted because it would have been okay. I was a bit of a mess so I understand why Abbey changed her mind and didn't want me to go for the full cut. All the other girls did their haircut without complaint. Kira had the most dramatic cut and she was upset, but she just got on with it.
So if I'd have stayed in the competition, after not getting the cut that they wanted me to have, I can understand that. That wouldn't have been fair. It's quite a big part of the show.
Do you regret that?
Yeah, I do. I wish I'd said, 'Just do it'. But at the same time, I've got a level head right now so it's easy for me to say that. Back then, I was true to how I was feeling at the time. I wish I'd stayed in and given it more, but at the same time I'm proud of myself and the way I handled it under the circumstances.
Did you want to explain a little more about the OCD?
I don't really have it any more. Just a little bit. But it's under control. I don't want to use it as an excuse, though, and I'm a lot better now than when I was younger.
How did you get on with the judging panel?
I'm glad we had Max and the guest judges because it meant I couldn't go in there with any preconceptions and think, 'Well, Abbey likes this, and Nicky likes this'.
It was nice to have a freshness each week. It made it more exciting because it was people that you might know from TV, like Lucy Watson, so it could be your role model walking in any week and you really wanted to prove yourself to them.
What's the dream?
I would love to work with Chanel and Dior. I like that classic tailoring. I like the more editorial stuff too. I would obviously love to be signed! I've been looking at agencies and researching it all and trying to get clued up on how to do it, who would suit me, what to do at a casting, and all that kind of thing, because I knew nothing before BNTM.
The plan is to pursue it for a couple of years. And my back-up plan is to go to uni after that so I have something to fall back on if it doesn't work out. But I want to really focus on this for a couple of years.
What do your family think?
My mum is so excited! She talks to me about it every single day. My parents are very very supportive. I don't think I've met parents as supportive as mine. They've always gone above and beyond with both me and my sister. My mum came with me to both my auditions. She helped me prepare and they are both really excited. My dad is retired from the army and my mum works in employment so they're not in that world whatsoever.
Are you in a relationship?
I've got a boyfriend called Matt. He's at uni doing business management. We've been together for a year and a half. He's nice! I think at first he was a little bit overwhelmed, and a bit worried because obviously people have opinions about people. He didn't want people saying bad things about me. But I said to him, this is what I want to do, and I know exactly what I'm letting myself in for. I know now from getting negative judgements from the panel that I can take criticism and now that's happened he's like, 'Okay, go for it'. He was just being protective. But now he's buzzing, now that his mind has been put at ease. He's seen me growing in confidence and he knows it's a good thing. I do care about and it's not just a fad. If I was to say to him, 'I've got 100,000 Instagram followers' - which I don't! - he would just go, 'Oh, cool'. He's not that interested. And I know that if anything big happened for me after this, it wouldn't' change things with us at all. He loves me for me.
Britain’s Next Top Model continues, exclusive to Lifetime every Thursday.