I didn’t to a review for last week’s episode of Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model. There was one reason for it, and one reason alone. I simply didn’t find looking at yet another group of girls with model aspirations that interesting – all equally hopeful of being chosen by the judges panel, some more disillusioned about their ‘beauty’ than others. So I thought I wouldn’t put you guys through reading about it.

But we are back and this time there will be cuts! This is the semifinal.

This week the judges made all the girls who made it through the first hoop, step in front of the camera and put their looks to the test. It was time who of the hopefuls were photogenic and who were not? All dressed in short, short black dresses, they had to do group photo shoots. This meant really making an impact on the judges and stand out from the crowd. While some succeeded, others simply didn’t have a clue and it was quite funny to watch.

Trying to add some drama to the first round of eliminations, the judges called out twenty-two names as they stood there, high above the crowd of wannabe-models as to show their ‘power’.  The unlucky twenty-two were told to leave the room as soon as their names had been called and wait elsewhere for the goodbyes. Descending the staircase to deliver the bad news, Elle once again managed to show off her amazingly long legs (high heels also helped!), bbefore telling the girls that “unfortunately the girls left in the other room… had not made the cut.” Cue happy screams. Far too predictable I think.

Having culled the hopefuls down to a manageable size, it was time to see which of the remaining girls were possible model material.

Model Test 1 - Make-up and Hair: Slap on the war paint, style the hair and place two girls together in a small glass cabinet to model watches.

In my opinion Daniella and Danielle just looked awkward. Everything was just in the wrong place, no super models there… And with Joanne and Laurie  just looked, as the judges pointed out, like two girls on holiday together having found a photo booth.

Model Test 2 – Au Natural: No make-up, just a bikini and heels allowed… Every girl’s nightmare?!

Having ‘inspected’ the each of the girls, looking at all the wrinkles, natural flaws and dare we say it cellulite (surely not… not on models), the judges now had a choice to make. It was time to make twenty-two turn into twelve.

The episode culminated with Elle having a one-on-one with each girl to tell her the good or bad news. As expected there were tears of happiness and tears of sadness. And in an ‘interesting’ turn of events, Elle and the judges decided to bring thirteen girls instead of twelve to the final…

Unsurprisingly, Amy, the love child of Florence (of the Machine) and Noel Fielding make the cut – she certainly has the face of a model. As did these ladies. Must say that I’m getting totes bored with the ‘dramatic’ scenes that are getting far too predictable…

Did the judges make the right choices? Let us know in the comments below!