Obituary

As just about every piece on the BORING Australia's Next Top Model finale (especially boring when watched in 9 separate YouTube parts) points out, Jodhi Meares' absence as host was so. freaking. weird.

She was clearly been sacked with ample time to prepare Charlotte Dawson as the (undoubtedly more skilled) host on the night, and for future series' of the show. Her token inclusion in 2 short pre-recorded packages during the epic episode were so solemn that I presumed she must've been absent due to a death in the family. (Though I was too scared to Google in case the results revealed the winner- it takes a while for YouTube's westicles88 to upload the episodes you see, and we wanted it to be a surprise!)

The result- a discussed below by Ezzy- was controversial, but it was also split. Three judges voted for Demelza, and the other three for Alex. (Though it was obvious that every single one of them was dying to just give it to Alice again!) Jodhi had been so seriously demoted that she wasn't even afforded a vote, an honor that last year she embarrassingly awarded to Steph (WHO?)

It was flat out ridiculous. If the High Court did away with its uneven panel, then they too would need to rely on the public vote to shape their decisions. (Not a bad idea in principle, but I'd actually prefer to not express my democratic voice on special leave corporations something v. BORING ). That the AuNTM verdict rested with the public vote was tacky and Big Brother-esque, something the show had usually tried to distance itself from. Moreover it was a tragic metaphor for the bullying escapades that coloured the show. It became a popularity contest and the prettiest girl won.

I can already see next years euphemistic marketing campaign: 'THIS YEAR, WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW TEAM, A NEW HOST, A NEW PANEL, NEW PRIZES.... AND A NEW BATCH OF WANNABE HOPEFULS. BUT WHO WILL BE THE NEW TOP MODEL'. Anyone with any shred of grace, intellegence or credibility will no doubt sever their ties with the show. It'll be all Jonathon and 12 poorly spoken babes from the Gold Coast.

I felt so sorry for Jodhi, her treatement on the finale was incredibly degrading. Granted she was fairly hopeless; her words form in JUST about THE weirdest INFLECTIONS i've EVER heard, and declared week after week at panel “I don't know, I can't bear it. It's just too hard this week!” But I had always liked her presence, she had both a good eye for beauty and fashion, and was incredibly warm and loving towards the contestants- seeing them as gorgeous three-dimensional young girls instead of merely bodies and faces.

It is a real warning to all those that have aspirations to be presenters in a commercial format- producers would rather dispense with instead of nurture you, even at the expense of the shows' coherence.

Cheers to you Jodhi; to your gratuitious 'h' (I have two, myself!), and to your dazzling array of bizarre and 'sexy' necklines.