The fourth season of ''

Australia's Next Top Model ''Australia's Next Top Model'' is an Australian reality television series which premiered on 11 January 2005 and concluded on 22 November 2016, and was based on Tyra Banks' ''America's Next Top Model''. It was broadcast on the Australian subscr ...

'' premiered on 22 April 2008 on Fox8. Auditions were held during October and November 2007 across Australia. Host

Jodhi Meares Jodhi Meares (born 24 March 1971) is an Australian glamour model, television personality and fashion designer. Career Meares took her first steps into the spotlight when she was chosen as a model for Moove, a brand of flavoured milk. In 1992, ...

returned for the fourth series along with judges

Alex Perry Alexandros Pertsinidis (born on February 14, 1963), known professionally as Alex Perry, is an Australian fashion designer and television presenter, mostly famous for his womenswear. His designs have been worn by celebrities including Jennifer ...

and

Charlotte Dawson Charlotte Dawson (8 April 1966 – 22 February 2014) was a New Zealand–Australian television personality. She was known in New Zealand for her roles as host of '' Getaway'', and in Australia as a host on ''The Contender Australia'' and as a ju ...

, while Jez Smith left the show due to scheduling commitments. Two different guest judges were included at panel every week. The contestants were housed in an $8 million waterfront

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

, located in the southern Sydney suburb of

Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. Port ...

, which the contestants moved into on 25 January 2008. The prizes for this season included a one-year modelling contract with Priscilla's Model Management in Sydney, an all expenses paid trip to New York City to meet with top international agencies, a Ford Fiesta Zetec, a one-year contract to be the face of

Napoleon Perdis Napoleon Perdis (born 19 March 1970) is an Australian make-up artist and businessman. Perdis launched a small makeup studio in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in 1992. He created a line of cosmetic products which he ...

Cosmetics, and an eight-page fashion spread in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' Australia. The winner of the competition was 16-year-old Demelza Reveley from

Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

Cast

Contestants

''(Ages stated are at start of contest)''

Judges

* Jodhi Meares * Charlotte Dawson * Alex Perry

Other cast members

*Jonathan Pease – style director, model mentor

Episodes

Results

: The contestant was immune from elimination. : The contestant was eliminated. : The contestant won the competition.

Final votes

Controversy

This series created some controversy in regards to in-house bullying. The fourth episode, "Reality Bites", showed contestant Alamela Rowan being taunted by Demelza Reveley, Rebecca Jobson and Alyce Crawford, with Reveley and Jobson in particular causing Rowan to become visibly upset. During the episode, Reveley proceeded to pour and throw water balloons at Rowan in a bid to get her to "open up" because she "just didn't get her". Another contestant, Alexandra Girdwood said in the episode that ironically, Reveley had changed schools several times because she herself had been a victim of bullying. Reveley, Crawford, and Jobson were christened the "Dapto Dogs" by judge

during the judging following the incident. Belinda Hodge, who was the contestant eliminated that episode, had defended Rowan on several occasions and was later praised by numerous media outlets for not "jumping the bandwagon" and bullying Rowan. After the episode aired there was an immediate media backlash in regard to the limited response toward the contestants involved in the bullying. It was stated by leading Australian Psychologist Michael Carr Gregg that the show did not properly handle the behavior of Reveley and the other contestants. It was also alleged that Fox8 downplayed the events with reports that in addition to what was televised, Reveley put condoms filled with mayonnaise in Rowan's bed and chili in her breakfast cereal. At the beginning of the following episode, "Working the Brand", host Jodhi Meares appeared in a message to viewers before the start of the episode explaining that the events of the previous week were examples of natural teenage behavior and the team behind ''Australia's Next Top Model'' did not support nor condone the behavior. Reveley apologized to Rowan on camera, but also stated in a confessional that the incident had been "blown out of proportion". Rowan was ultimately eliminated that same episode.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Australia's Next Top Model 2008 Australian television seasons Australia's Next Top Model seasons Television shows filmed in Australia Television shows filmed in Fiji Television shows filmed in New York City