A KINGSWINFORD administrator with model ambitions will be aiming to win over the judges on the forthcoming series of Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model.

Anna Vokes is one of 20 aspiring models plucked from obscurity to battle it out through a series of extreme shoots and intense challenges for a chance to realise their dream of kickstarting a top modelling career.

The 21-year-old, who works for an interiors company in Dudley, has been branded the “kooky girl with big energy” by makers of the popular Sky Living show - hosted by supermodel Elle ‘The Body’ Macpherson.

Describing herself as “zany” and “alternative”, six foot one Anna says she was bullied in her teens for “standing out as weird” and her ambition is to become a role model, an icon and an inspiration for young people struggling with growing up - not just a coat hanger for designers.

The former Kingswinford School student said taking part in the show had been a “crazy” experience.

She added: “It’s definitely made me grow as a person and look at things differently.”

Anna faces competition from a host of strong-willed beauties all hoping to get their hands on the top prize - a contract with international agency Models 1, a cover and feature in Company magazine, a contract with Revlon cosmetics and the chance to front an international campaign with high street fashion brand Miss Selfridge.

The winner will also scoop a luxury holiday to The Atlantis Palm in Dubai and a brand new Peugeot RC.

Fellow contestants include Miss Great Britain finalist Emma Grattidge, Essex mum Vanessa Cox and actress Diona Doherty - while joining Elle Macpherson on the judging panel will be Welsh designer Julien MacDonald; Whitney Port, of American reality shows The Hills and The City; and American male model Tyson Beckford.

Despite fierce competition to go far in the show - Anna, a former Stourbridge Carnival princess, says she and many of her fellow contestants have become “friends for life”.

She added: “Meeting the girls was the most amazing thing about the experience. I was dreading living with 19 other girls but they made it.

“Going to Dubai as part of the show was also amazing - and meeting one of my icons, Elle Macpherson, was insane.”

She said she tried out for the show as a “confidence booster” after years of being “called every name under the sun” by school bullies, adding: “I’d always watched it and wished I could be on it.”

Anna makes her debut on the eighth series of Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model on Monday July 9 at 9pm.