Opportunity Knox

Britain’s Missing Top Model winner Kelly Knox has moved seamlessly from credit controller to catwalk model. But, she tells Cathy Reay, she’s not going to fall for the celebrity lifestyle

Less than a year ago, Kelly Knox was a credit controller for a furniture company in Enfield. Today, she’s a full-time model.

“I’m still the same person,” Kelly insists, raising her voice so she’s audible above the hubbub of her surroundings. “I just have a different job.”

Just another day in the life: while talking to Disability Now, Kelly is also prepping for an appearance on the BBC show Ready, Steady, Cook.

Kelly, who was born without a lower left arm, has had hardly a moment to herself since shooting to fame as the winner of the BBC3 series Britain’s Missing Top Model (BMTM) this summer.

“The day after the show ended, I went straight back to my old job,” she says. “But I was sitting at my desk thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It wasn’t for me anymore, I wanted different things.”

Having been a keen follower of fashion trends throughout her adolescence, Kelly was elated when she won the BMTM competition. It meant that she got to model for a shoot with world-renowned photographer Rankin and, perhaps more importantly, leave her day job for a more glamourous lifestyle.

She’s now signed up with the model agency Take 2 Models.

“I’ve been to a lot of castings since the show ended,” she says.

“I’ve done a few things; just recently I modelled on the catwalk as part of London Fashion Week.”

Despite being thrust into the limelight so suddenly, Kelly says that she’s never felt nervous: “When I go to castings and see able-bodied girls auditioning for the same job, I don’t feel at all inferior. I’ve always felt just like everyone else.

“The ‘modelling world’ is the same as everyday life – you go up there, do your thing and see what happens.”

It’s this natural confidence that Kelly believes led to her success both in the TV series and the real world.

“I thought that everyone [with an impairment] was the same as me, that they got on with it and didn’t care what people thought.

“I was never bullied at school, I had lots of friends and was in the popular groups, but some of the other girls on BMTM weren’t as lucky. I think it’s nice that there was someone there with a positive outlook.”

The sheer volume of messages that Kelly receives, through her social networking pages on sites like Facebook and MySpace, is evidence of how likeable she is both on and off-screen.

“I have had so many people messaging me: parents of children who are born the same way, saying I’m such an inspiration, that they are so glad they’ve got someone like me in the spotlight.

“One lady who had a daughter starting school told me she was really worried until she saw the show and realised that it doesn’t matter if you’re a little bit different.”

Although she never thought herself disabled before the programme (“I didn’t see a difference between me and anyone else”),

Kelly says she’s happy to be considered a disabled role model for other people. “When I get messages like the ones I’ve had, it makes me realise why I took part in the show in the first place.”

She maintains that her favourite places to shop are River Island and Topshop, though the designer pieces she wears on set are obviously a great perk: “It’s always nice to have something designer to mix and match with high street brands.”

As for the celebrity lifestyle, you’ll probably never find this girl at a premiere or glitzy launch: “I don’t feel as though I’m part of that world at all. I prefer hanging out with my friends, doing normal stuff!” she says.

Kelly believes that, after the success of BMTM, it is vital to continue raising awareness of disabled models.

“Because what we are doing [putting disabled people on the catwalk] is a totally new thing. You don’t know how big it is going to be,” she says.

“This is all just a foot in the door for us. Who knows how it will end up.”