Joanna Hunkin caught up with America's Next Top Model judge Nigel Barker.
You've been with Top Model for six years now. Do you still enjoy it?
I thoroughly enjoy it. It's really an easy job. I get the opportunity to meet new people and travel to different countries every season.
There isn't anything really not to like about it.
You've certainly managed to stay in the good books while everyone else has been booted out . . .
There are definitely clashes of personality.
I think it's designed for that and it's certainly not always amicable. But that said, I think at the end of the day we are all professionals and we all deal with our emotions in different ways.
We have had major clashes in the past where people have got very upset but it's not that often.
Certainly, we have our fair share of divas on the show.
And is Tyra as, er, colourful in real life as her on-screen persona?
I tell you, it's one and the same. It's actually who she is.
So, she's mad?
Well, it's one of the keys to success for a good reality show if you cast people who actually are themselves. I think the audience can always tell if someone is performing and they won't buy it.
You were involved in New Zealand's Next Top Model, making a guest appearance.
That's right. It was a lot of fun. Great people.
I have family in Christchurch, so I was hoping to go to New Zealand. Perhaps if you do a second season, I'll get the opportunity to come out to New Zealand.
How did they compare to the girls you see coming through the American cycles?
The girls were great. I was very impressed. Obviously, we have a massive population to choose from. Your girls were younger, your winner was a 16-year-old.
Our contestants can't even take part unless they're 18.
So that was a big difference, right there. There are a lot of differences there in terms of how they behave in their off time.
And did you notice anything about the New Zealand models, any general trends that set them apart from American girls, or even English girls?
It's hard to say, but they were certainly very keen and very hard working.
They listened a lot.
Often, with the American girls, it seems things go in one ear and out the other.
But the girls I worked with were very determined.
You were none too taken with Hosanna when you worked with her. Are you surprised to hear she made the top three?
The thing about Top Model is you've got to let people listen and learn. And if they do and they change, then you've got to move on.
You can't hold a grudge and say "Well they were horrible when I shot them so that's all that counts".
One of the things I've learnt is when I meet the contestants, I try not to be too judgemental . . . because they're going to have makeovers, many will progress massively. A lot of the time, the ones who do really well initially, do the worst in the end because they don't change or adapt because they think they know it all.
And how much does personality come into it? Is it purely based on how they perform each week?
We know nothing about their personalities. We just see them at judging.
It's interesting for us because sometimes we're thinking "Goodness me, that girl was rather bitchy, wasn't she? I can't believe she was that nasty.
"I thought she was a sweet thing." - Joanna Hunkin.
