A model contestant

SEARCH for a star TV shows are big news at the moment. First we had Popstars, then Soapstars and now Pop Idol.

But surely the most glamorous of all has been Model Behaviour -

the search for the next great

supermodel.

To many, modelling seems like an ideal job - glamour, fame, money, being told that you are beautiful every day.

It comes as no surprise to find that the Model Behaviour auditions had tens of thousands of girls queuing up for hours for their chance of standing before the panel of judges and maybe, just maybe being picked to become the next Naomi Campbell or Sophie Dahl.

Of course, for nearly all of the girls, their dreams of appearing on magazine covers and catwalks were quickly dashed.

But some of them made it through the selection process.

They were whittled down and down until only five girls were left.

These girls were taken on by a top modelling agency, moved into a flat in London and told to prepare for careers as professional models.

And 17-year-old Maisie Waller, from Hampshire, was one of those girls.

Maisie, who lives in Linwood, near Ringwood, in the New Forest, had though about modelling before, but it had never been a great ambition of hers.

"I haven't always wanted to be a model.

"People have always said that I should be one but I never thought I was pretty enough," she says, modestly.

"But I saw the advert for Model Behaviour on the telly and I thought I might as well go for it."

Maisie attended her first audition for the show in May of this year in Bristol.

But although she queued up for almost two hours waiting to be seen, she didn't expect her hopes of becoming a model to progress much further.

"I was amazed when I got through the first rounds.

"I didn't expect anything.

"I really didn't expect to get anywhere at all, so I was really happy, but I

didn't expect to get any

further," she remembers.

"I just thought I'd wait and see what happened."

But Maisie did go further.

She was invited to attend a workshop week in London in June and at the end of the week was selected as one of five girls to be signed to a top London model agency.

Maisie moved into a swish apartment overlooking the Thames, with four other girls, and readied herself for a world of glamour and fame.

She was ecstatic but the bubble was about to burst.

She went on castings with the other girls, showing her portfolio and having brief interviews with model bookers.

But although she had positive feedback from some potential clients, she also heard the same criticism time and again - at five foot five - she was too short.

After three weeks, the girls were told that one of them was going to be asked to leave and Maisie felt sure it would be her.

"When I heard the feedback from the castings, I kind of felt it coming," she says.

"I'd prepared myself beforehand, so I was kind of expecting it.

"I was upset but there was nothing I could do about it.

"When I went for the first audition, I knew that the minimum height for a model was about five foot eight, so I was amazed, considering my height, that I got in."

Despite being frustrated when

she seemed so close to achieving

her goal, Maisie is not bitter about how she was treated, although she does think the behaviour of the Model Behaviour judges was rather illogical.

"I think it was a bit unfortunate that they let me get through all the stages, just to let me go because they know how tall I was all along," she says, matter-of-factly.

Although Maisie didn't become a supermodel, her experience with Model Behaviour has given her a taste of fame.

"It was so strange seeing myself on telly for the first time.

"I was really embarrassed because you look and sound so different to how you think of yourself, but you get used to it after a while.

"It's quite funny, because people are coming up to me and going, 'oh my god, I saw you on the telly!'"

Maisie has yet to be asked for her autograph, which is probably a good thing, as she isn't sure how she'd react.

"I'd probably be so scared I'd forget how to write my name," she says.

So, what does the future hold for Maisie?

Now that she has tasted fame, has she developed a craving for it?

"I will wait and see what happens, but I am in my last year of school, so I need to get my A-levels sorted - they are my main priority," she says with the sort of level-headedness that would make any parent proud.

"It never occurred to me before that I could do something like this.

"If the modelling doesn't work out, I'll probably...I'm quite good at design, so I'll probably go into that."

And what about the other would-be models that Maisie lived with for three weeks - did they secretly hate each other, or did they forge lifelong friendships?

"I'd like to think I'll stay friends with the other girls.

"I really like all of them, so I would like to stay in contact with them all."

Who said the world of modelling was all prima donnas and catfights?