Prize for Wymondham model

THE sultry smile of Joanna Renwick will be seen by millions of shoppers across the country as she becomes the new face of a major retail chain.

The 20-year-old, from Wymondham, has been catapulted into the glamorous world of fashion since beating almost 8,000 people to be named the winner of a national modelling competition organised by Next.

She has just touched back down in the UK after being whisked off to Paris to shoot the retailer's latest television advert and be photographed for OK! magazine.

Next has also treated the former Wymondham College pupil to a �2,000 shopping spree and an introduction to Select Model Management, who kick-started the careers of Agyness Deyn and Daisy Lowe.

But for Joanna, who has just completed an executive PA course at Oxford Media and Business School, her win came as a surprise.

'It was just surreal really. I did not expect it all,' she said.

'I'm not extremely confident. I'm quite a shy person so it was really great.'

She was persuaded to enter the competition, called Make Me The Next Model Too!, by her boyfriend and sisters.

Joanna logged her details into Next's Facebook page. Internet users then voted for their top 100 candidates.

The finalists were invited to Old Billingsgate Market, in London, on July 30 where they were professionally styled by hair and make-up artists, put through a photo shoot and performed a catwalk show.

At the end of the day, which was hosted by former popstar Duncan James and television presenters Donna Air and Katy Hill, then crowned Joanna alongside Michael Etherington, from Keighley in Yorkshire, as the winners.

Joanna, who spent her early childhood in Grenada in the Caribbean where her father lives, is on the verge of moving to Manchester where she was planning to search for a PA job, but is now considering trying to forge a career in modelling instead.

'I have never really had the confidence,' she said.

'Everyone has been really supportive so I think I would like to give it a go now.'