Maybe it was the holiday I’ve just come back from, but I really wasn’t expecting the fifth episode of Britain’s Missing Top Model to be the final. Next week’s series closer, you see, is a catch-up thing, and sees how the girls have been getting on since the show finished. So it was the final, then. Blimey. We had Sophie (wheelchair-bound paraplegic), Kelly (who had no left arm) and Jess (who suffered from a myriad of illnesses and conditions). Who would win? As in all these TV talent contests, everyone has their own favourites and I was no different. But, wash my feet, there was all sorts going on last night. Where to begin?

1. The urban shoot.
The three girls teamed up with a top photographer, who had snapped for Vogue and all those sorts of magazines. This photographer was a throw back to the old school (“lovely… yes, lovely”, “I’m LOVING it!”, “it’s all about angles”) and she was renowned for her hurricane energy. First up was Jess, who’s about as energetic as a snail on ketamine. The photographer asked her to take her wrist splints off (something she wasn’t used to), and her weak wrists were suddenly very evident. Stamina was also a problem for Jess, and once again she took a nap after her solo shoot. She woke up with a big zip indentation on her face, thanks to falling asleep on a make-up bag. Not good form really, and Kelly, watching from the sidelines, stated that she would be really annoyed if Jess won.

Kelly and Sophie did their shoots, and the photographer really had trouble getting her head around Sophie’s paralysis - she wasn’t used to asking a model who couldn’t move her legs or body about. Still, Sophie soldiered on.

Back in the elimination room, the judges were at it hammer and tongs, but they did mange to reach one consensus at least - they were miffed that this photographer had snapped them without highlighting their disabilities. Mark, even though his double-hand-waving technique drives me plain-barmy, did say that this would what it would be like in the real world - the girls would be judged as models as well as standard bearers for the disability cause.

In the end they decided to eliminate Jess, because of her stamina issues. I agreed, but she did say something quite poignant in the cab home (I guess in response to those – Sophie, let’s face it – who thought her disabilities weren’t visual or extreme enough), said that everyone should just judge each others on their merits as human beings, whether they had disabilities or not. Quite right too.

2. The final challenge.
Kelly and Sophie were last and for their last challenge they had to do a nude shoot. This has been one of the strengths of the show, I think - the challenges were so well chosen and have really forced the models (and, in turn, the audience) to face their own insecurities, body image issues and any low self-esteem or anger whatever emotions they feel with regards to their disability. And this is what happened during the nude shoot. Sophie went first and opted to use her wheelchair as an integral part of the image. She looked amazing and, afterwards, she felt liberated and said that some of the issues she had had with her chair had disappeared thanks to the shoot. Jonathan, the girls’ excellent mentor, was in tears. Kelly, meanwhile, opted for a more classical pose. She too looked terrific, with her stump on show. However, Sophie was disappointed and wanted her to do more, to show more and to not conform. Sophie has been like this throughout the whole of the series - she’s brave, beautiful, and has everything going for her, but she doesn’t take kindly to fellow disability sufferers who she feels aren’t shouting from the rooftops or taking a political stance. And Kelly was now in the firing line.

3. The result
In the end, Kelly Knox won out. Marie, the editor of Marie Claire, had the casting vote and she thought Kelly photographed better. In the end it came to that – who would look better in photographs. Sophie stormed off, muttering that she wasn’t pretty enough. I liked Sophie very much and admire and her spirit and her talents, but even though she was perhaps right with Jess, I don’t see much more that Kelly could do differently.

So that was the end, and I enjoyed the competition. It was kind of a unique TV experience because the series provided all those talent show TV thrills, spills and bitching, but it also made you think… think about how you perceive disabilities and being disabled. Thankfully my friends and myself (you’d like to think) wouldn’t give a pig’s arse whether someone was disabled or not. It’s all about the person. But in the fashion industry? Where image is everything? Where perfection has to be attained at all costs? That’s a pretty brave thing to put yourself through. Just imagine – you’re in an accident and you lose some of the functions you used to enjoy using, or you were born without something you see everyone else using and taking for granted. It must leave you angry and shellshocked and just, well, with that ‘why me?’ feeling. So to take part in a television show where you will take part in challenges that are designed to specifically exploit any emotional weaknesses you have… that takes guts and there are opportunities there for the winner to change perceptions within that industry.

But let’s face it (and Wayne suggested this when talking about Sophie), the fashion industry is faddish and shit, and men and women who model are just clothes horses. That’s all.

As for Britain’s Missing Top Model, it was Journey TV at its best.

For all our BMTM coverage, go here.