TV’s most glamorous show is coming to Canada.

Genre: Competition, Fashion, Modeling, Reality
Episode(s): Season 1, all 8 episodes
Role: Herself (host)
Status: Season 1 aired May 31 – July 19 2006 (Canada)
Series Creator(s): Tyra Banks
Cast: Jeanne Beker (herself / regular judge), Paul Venoit (himself / regular judge), Stacey McKenzie (herself / regular judge), Sima Kumar (herself / photoshoot creative director)
Network: Citytv

• Overview
• Memorable Tricia Quotations
• Said of Canada’s Next Top Model
• Canada’s Next Top Model Season 1 Trivia
• Reception: Awards & Personal Thoughts
• Canada’s Next Top Model Online

More CNTM images of Tricia in our Canada’s Next Top Model Photo Gallery

Series and season overview by Tricia Helfer Fan:

Canada’s Next Top Model is the Canadian spin-off from Tyra Banks’ hit reality series America’s Next Top Model in which a handpicked group of young women go up against each other in various fashion- and modeling-related challenges in order to win a selection of prizes and the title Canada’s Next Top Model.

In the series’ debut season, 10 girls competed over the course of eight weeks for a modeling contract with Sutherland Models, an editorial spread in the Canadian Fashion magazine and a $100,000 beauty contract with Procter & Gamble. Host Tricia Helfer and regular judges Jeanne Beker, photographer Paul Venoit and model and runway coach Stacey McKenzie ultimately crowned Andrea Muizelaar as the cycle winner.

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Tricia Helfer appears as herself.

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List of Episodes

Tricia appears in the following episodes of Canada’s Next Top Model:

Season 1 (May 31 – Jul 19 2006)
1.01 “Hit the Dance Floor Running”
1.02 “Float Like a Butterfly, Fight Like a Babe”
1.03 “Walk This Way”
1.04 “Topping It All Off”
1.05 “She Has the Weakest Photograph”
1.06 “Beauty Is as Beauty Poses”
1.07 “Get Ready, Get Set, Go See!”
1.08 “Runway Race to the Finish”

From episode 1.01 “Hit the Dance Floor Running”:

[Jay Manuel: "Tricia had a huge modeling career. She's worked for all the top designers, from Valentino and Armani to Chanel."]

[Jeanne Beker: "Tricia's the real deal. I mean, she's been there, she's seen it all. She came out of nowhere and she really conquered the fashion world."]

“Don’t get bummed out. I didnt even know that I had a sneer, I didn’t know that I had a little thing on my lip before I started modeling. The biggest thing you’re gonna learn is to not take the criticism personally.”

“For the next eight weeks, you guys are gonna be living a life of luxury. Gonna be getting a little taste of the high life, and a little taste of what it’s like to be a top model. The girl that wins is going to have to have strength, stamina and street smarts. Do you think you guys can do that?”

“I have ten beautiful ladies standing in front of me, but I only have nine photos in my hand. When I call your name, that means you are still in the running to become Canada’s Next Top Model.”

From episode 1.02 “Float Like a Butterfly, Fight Like a Babe”:

“Ladies, welcome to the Fight Club.”

“Were looking for editorial. This is what you’d see in a high-fashion magazine. We’re not afraid to show expression — if you wanna laugh, if you wanna scream, whatever you wanna do, now’s the kind of photoshoot to try it.”

“All the time I’m told, ‘Tricia, suck in your gut, suck in your gut.’”

“In a shoot like this, don’t be afraid to have a bad frame. Everybody’s gonna get a bad frame when you’re trying something.”

“I have one photograph in my hand. This photograph represents the girl that will continue in the running to be Canada’s Next Top Model. The other girl needs to go back to the house, pack her bags and leave.”

From episode 1.03 “Walk This Way”:

“You do really have to think fast on your feet, I mean things happen all the time. You know, your dress may be too big or your shoes may be too small or an earring falls off. You may trip and fall, and you know, a trip could ruin a model’s runway career if she doesn’t handle it properly.”

From episode 1.04 “Topping It All Off”:

“It’s daunting to take off your top for the first time. If the girl can’t get over that odd feeling, it’s gonna be hard for them to make a mark in this industry.”

From episode 1.06 “Beauty Is as Beauty Poses”:

“Rob will not take pictures of this. I’ll tie his arms behind his back!”

“A huge thing for a model to get over in the beginning is the shyness-factor and the embarrassment-factor of trying to be somebody you’re not.”

From episode 1.07 “Get Ready, Get Set, Go See!”:

“The first time I did go-sees in Milan, I was 17 years old, and I couldn’t find my way. I got completely lost, I couldn’t speak Italian, nobody spoke English on the street, I couldn’t find a taxi. Three hours later, finally I arrive at the agency crying, and I was probably about two blocks away.”

[instructing the girls on their go-sees] “Composite cards are basically a model’s business card. [...] So you want to have a beauty shot on the front so it kinda stands out. You generally have from either 1 to 4 pictures on the back. [...] You want to arrange your portfolio, that you have your strongest pictures at the beginning and at the end. It’s the first impression and the last impression. You wanna show versatility, you wanna show body shots, beauty shots… Another good note to remember is that you should know who shot your pictures, maybe what you were wearing. You should pay attention, because people always ask, ‘Oh, I love that shot! Who took it?’ [...] If you show up and they want you to have shorts on and you don’t have shorts on, you may as well turn around and walk right out the door again. You should take a pair of heels, and you also should not show up with a full face of make-up. They don’t like when they can’t see you. [...] If you know you’re going to be having to get into a bathing suit or shorts, it’s nice to have a good moisturizer. [...] You need to present yourself well, and you need to be on time.”

From episode 1.08 “Runway Race to the Finish”:

“I love Alanna, and I actually see a lot of myself in Alanna.”

“If you just put these two out on a shoot and don’t coach them, you’re gonna get a better picture from Andrea.”

“I think we need to do a silent vote.”

“I have to say that this was an incredibly difficult decision for us. There were tears, there were arguments, and then there were more tears. So, here we are. One girl’s life is about to change. In a matter of seconds, she’ll be a star. Canada’s Next Top Model is…” [Andrea's picture appears on the screen]

Select quotations regarding the show from Tricia Helfer and her co-workers:

On the show in retrospect:
“I quit modeling in 2002 when I started acting, but I did foray into it with Canada’s Next Top Model, but, to be completely honest, model reality shows are not like modeling in real. They’re certainly not like the modeling business. It’s about making a good TV show. To be honest, that’s why I’m not doing further seasons of it is because I’m not a fan of reality shows. I’m glad I did the first season and experienced it and was in the producing end of it, but it wasn’t where I wanted to put my focus and my time. It was taking pretty much my whole hiatus between the Battlestar seasons.”
- TheSciFiWorld.net interview, July 4 2008

On the show in retrospect:
“‘Tricia, would you ever consider teaching acting and modeling? I would love to learn from you.’ [...] That’s actually the one thing I liked, when I did that one season of Canada’s Next Top Model, was working with the girls alone, but I just didn’t like the ‘fake’ that you had to put to it. I mean, it’s a great show for those that like the show, I’m not saying anything against it, I just didn’t [...] wanna be told to say things that wouldn’t come out of my mouth, when it’s my name. It’s one thing if you’re playing a character, yeah, make me say anything, but when it’s your name and it’s supposed to be your personality and you’re being told to say things that wouldn’t come out of you… I wanted to give the girls a realistic view of the business, not some fake TV show-view of the business.”
- Acting Outlaws “LA La Ride” broadcast, October 28 2010

Cycle 1 winner Andrea Muizelaar on quitting modeling, coping with anorexia during the competition and Tricia:

Q: [The personal trainer hired for the show] was also the same guest who memorably destroyed a scale with a sledgehammer. Since Tricia Helfer invited him, do you feel that she was sincere about wanting all the contestants to be healthy? Did she know you had an eating disorder?
“Tricia Helfer knows the demands of the industry as she lives them herself. She was not the producer of the show and did not plan the show, so I assume she is doing as she is told, knowing full well that weight was a big issue amongst all of us. They all knew that I had an eating disorder as I barely ate on that show. If anyone did not know, they were just plain naive.”

Q: Which judge do you feel was perhaps the most genuine in terms of behavior on-screen and off?
“Tricia Helfer and Ron (one of the producers).”

Q: There’s been criticism on ‘America’s Next Top Model’ that Tyra Banks and the care that she shows to her models is an act for TV. Do you think Tricia Helfer is the opposite?
“Absolutely, and don’t you think it is weird that she no longer hosts CNTM?”

- Wikinews interview, November 26 2007

• Tricia Helfer hosted the debut season of Canada’s Next Top Model in between filming seasons for Battlestar Galactica, and chose to not host future seasons due to her busy filming schedule. The show has since been hosted by Jay Manuel, the photoshoot creative director of America’s Next Top Model. She has later cautiously spoken out against the format, saying that while she is appreciative of the experience she would’ve also liked to show the girls what modeling is really like, but that the show isn’t particularly realistic in that respect.

• After winning Canada’s Next Top Model Cycle 1, Andrea Muizelaar has since spoken out against the show and quit modeling due to struggling to cope with an eating disorder. Although vehemently denying her anorexia during the competition, Muizelaar has since admitted to it and directed much criticism towards the show and its producers for ignoring it and for promoting an unhealthy image of women on the show by choosing her as the cycle winner. According to a Wikinews interview with Muizelaar, she was extremely emotionally unstable throughout the competition and spent most of her time on the show hiding her eating disorder, which she however feels was too obvious not to have been noticed. Muizelaar has not directed this criticism towards host Tricia, however; in fact, Tricia commented on Muizelaar’s underweight in the judge’s panel in an episode of the show, saying she worries Andrea doesn’t eat enough.

Awards & Nominations

Canada’s Next Top Model Season 1 has received a total of 1 award.

Awards:
• Gemini Award (2007) — Best Reality Program or Series

Personal Thoughts

Sandra: I have to say I kind of secretly enjoy today’s fashion and modeling reality shows, so Canada’s Next Top Model was kinda right up my alley. Is it realistic? No. But is it good entertainment? Oh yeah.

As the host, I personally thought Tricia did a terrific job, and that she didn’t return for future seasons was a real loss for the show, because Jay Manuel (whose vocabulary consists only of “dynamic”) is just a very poor fit imo. I read on some forum about how “boring” some people thought she was compared to ANTM‘s Tyra Banks, but honestly I thought that worked to Tricia’s benefit, not against her. Tyra is so over-the-top and all over the place on ANTM she mostly appears unprofessional and false on the show, while Tricia appeared to both know what she was talking about and to really care for the girls and wanting to educate them on modeling. From a career perspective I’m not particularly sad that Tricia never returned to the show (though I’m secretly hoping for a cameo appearance one day), but it is inescapably one of the most interesting things she’s ever done regardless.

Favorite Episode(s): Hmm. Maybe 1.02 “Float Like a Butterfly, Fight Like a Babe”, because it was really great to see how Tricia works (or worked) as a model.

Below are some Canada’s Next Top Model-related links that may be of interest to you.

• Canada’s Next Top Model official site
• Canada’s Next Top Model TFL-approved fanlisting
• Canada’s Next Top Model on IMDb.com
• Canada’s Next Top Model on MetaCritic.com
• Canada’s Next Top Model on Wikipedia.org

• Andrea Muizelaar on Wikipedia.org