Rachael ('Britain's Next Top Model')

This week's Top Model elimination was the most shocking yet. Rachael Cairns had been lavished with praise throughout the series, often being compared to angular beauty Erin O'Connor, but her winning streak came to an abrupt halt in South Africa. Lisa said the "light wasn't on" in her picture; Huggy reckoned her imagination had been stifled; and a typically blunt Gerry labelled her "fake". How did Rachael cope with being eliminated so close to the final? We gave her a call to find out.

How did you feel when Lisa said you hadn't made the final three?
"A mixture of things, to be honest. Immediately I was just absolutely gutted because I'd got so far but it obviously wasn't far enough. But because the tensions were really high between the four of us, I think I was ready to leave. Part of me felt like I couldn't do another week feeling like I was being strangled mentally, but at the same time I was telling myself, 'Come on mate, it's only another week!'"

Did you like your final picture?
"I couldn't bloody see the picture! The judges actually had to ask for a hard copy of the photo because they couldn't see me properly on the screen. I'm very much in the background of my photo, whereas the others girls are very close-up in theirs. I don't know how it was judged to be honest, because I couldn't even see myself on the screen. All I could see was a little body miles away."

During the evaluation Gerry said he found you "fake" - something he'd mentioned several times previously. What do you think to that comment?
"You know, Gerry's such a lovely guy but he says such random things. He told Stef once that she looked like she was six months pregnant - I mean, the girl has the most incredible figure in the world! I think sometimes he gets a bit carried away and you have to take what he says with a pinch of salt."

The 'f' word seemed to follow you round all series though. Did that bother you?
"At the beginning some of the girls were saying, 'Yeah, she's a bit fake'. But then quite a few girls started coming up to me and saying, 'Actually, you know what, you're not fake, you're just really nice and I misread you'. I think I've been nicknamed 'holier than thou' now and I prefer being called that to something like 'Rachael the ugly b*tch'. Not that anyone's called me that, I hope!"

Yourself excepted, do you think the right girls made the final three?
"If I could have picked the final three it would have been Charlotte, Stefanie and myself. We all had a brilliant time together and Charlotte's going to be a friend for life. She's an absolute legend."

Do you think Alex deserved to make the final? At one point you really took issue with her attitude.
"I think at that exact time I was just really upset because I'd bothered to watch her during her photo shoot and then she fell asleep during mine. Looking back at it now, she's a beautiful girl and I hope she does really well. I don't think she'd still be there unless she really, really wanted to win it."

Were the final four as divided as you seemed?
"Well, we all travelled around together and ate together and at those times it was lovely. But now, watching it back, I'm seeing people giving funny remarks to camera when I wasn't looking. I'm thinking, 'Wow, did that really happen? I was a bit naive!' I don't think this has been the worst series for bitchiness though. I certainly hope not!"

Some of the put-downs are pretty shocking though.
"I'm definitely shocked at some people. I missed an episode a few weeks ago because I went to the Sex And The City premiere and I got so many texts from friends saying, 'You're going to die when you see this episode!' They were right - when I watched it the next day I just gasped at some of the things that were said about certain people."

What's next for you?
"I'm not stopping! I'm going to push on with the modelling and also my acting. I don't think I'll go back to my Law degree now - that's been pushed to the side for at least a million years!"

The final of Britain's Next Top Model airs Monday at 9pm on Living.